REVEALED: ‘A woman has been living out of packed boxes since late last year’

Housing provision, delays and delivery capacity dominated discussion at a meeting of the Tipperary-Cahir-Cashel Municipal District held on March 23, at the Tipperary Town Civic Offices, where members considered the latest Housing Directorate report.

Fine Gael Councillor Declan Burgess raised a series of issues relating to stalled developments, design progress and the pace of delivery across the district. He began by highlighting a pause in construction at a five home development in Longfield, Boherlahan.

READ NEXT: REACTION: 'It’s unforgivable at this level', says Tipp boss Cahill on missed chances in draw

He also sought an update on the appointment of a design team for a five home scheme in Hollyford village. Attention then turned to a 13 home development at Castlegreen estate on the Clonmel Road in Cashel, a site purchased by the council.

Cllr Burgess described the scheme as an important addition to local housing supply, but raised concerns about accessibility in current designs.

He noted that none of the social homes currently being delivered in Cashel include ground floor bedrooms, describing this as a significant gap in provision for people with mobility issues.

Cllr Burgess also argued for a stronger role for local authorities in directly delivering housing. He pointed to the construction of nine homes at Boherclough in Aengus Court in the previous term as an example of successful council-led delivery.

Speaking to the The Tipperary Star after the meeting Cllr Burgess stated: “The local authority stopped building. There are funding mechanisms there nationally to get us building our own stock and we saw that quite successfully in Cashel with the 9 homes at Boherclough in Aengus court being delivered previously in my last term.”

A broader concern emerged during the meeting regarding an overreliance on Approved Housing Bodies. Cllr Burgess suggested that the system may be too dependent on them, citing ongoing delays at the Coopers Gate development in Spafield, Cashel as an example.

Independent councillor Liam Browne also shared similar concerns about this same development. “Regarding Coppers Gate I know people who have given up houses who are now sleeping on couches, where and when they are going to move in to these houses?,” he said.

The development, which he noted comprises of 44 homes, has experienced repeated delays. Tenancies in phase two had been expected before Christmas, with offers issued in September and October of last year. 

Councillor Burgess stated that he was “disappointed” with the lack of progress at the development and with the a lack of communication or updates from the (AHB) Respond, that’s responsible for the scheme.

"I am really, really disappointed with the Coopers Gate phase two, we did our allocation months and months ago, and the communication has been unacceptable from Respond,” Cllr Burgess said.

“There has been delay after delay by the developer and by the approved housing body. Their communication is non-existent and it is quite frustrating,” Cllr Burgess said.

He outlined the impact on families awaiting allocation, noting that some have yet to receive tenancy training, agreements or updated information. Several are now overholding in private rented accommodation after receiving notice to quit.

“These families are pleading with the local authority to give them a timeline and  explanation why the homes are ready and why they can't move in,” he said.

Cllr Burgess also described a case of a woman who has been living out of packed boxes since late last year due to delays for this development.

While acknowledging that delays are not uncommon in housing projects, he said communication in this instance has been inadequate and frustrating.

Gillian Barry, responding to the councillors from the council’s housing section said she understood their frustration on this matter.

“I share your frustrations. We have endeavoured to engage with the AHB but unfortunately, we haven’t had a response,” she stated. 

Ms Barry finished by saying "Our director is now taking it on, and I’m sure we’ll be back to you very soon with a successful conclusion to this.” 

Concerns about housing delivery extended beyond Cashel. Sinn Féin councillor Anne Marie Ryan pointed to a lack of construction activity in Tipperary town.

“There is no building going on in Tipperary town, with over 200 people on the housing list here, what are we doing about house building in Tipp town,” she said.

Council officials responded that a number of sites are currently under consideration and encouraged councillors to bring forward potential locations, noting that previous work had focused on addressing dereliction in the town.

Delays were also highlighted in relation to a development in Clogheen. Fine Gael councillor Marie Murphy questioned the pace of progress and sought clarity on timelines.

“I thought at this stage we would have people living in these houses, we need to move on and get the estate up and running, we have no signs of boots on the ground,” she said.

She added that 185 houses are in the process of being built across the municipal district and said delivery must accelerate for approved social housing applicants. 

In response, council officials said a masterplan is in place for the Clogheen development and that they expect to reach Part 8 stage by the third quarter of the year, adding that cost certainty must be agreed beforehand.

Concerns were also raised by councillors relating to the retrofit programme for existing housing stock, with questions over whether current funding levels are sufficient to meet national targets.

Councillor Declan Burgess said the scale of ambition set at national level is not matched by the resources being made available to local authorities.

He argued that while works are under way, the programme is “creating a small dent” and is not making a meaningful impact at scale, calling for a more concentrated and better resourced approach. “I think if we are serious we need to put more money into it and block out houses and do it in a much more efficient and effective way.” 

Independent councillor Liam Browne said the scheme should be re-evaluated, arguing that its reach is too limited. 

“Not enough people get it at any one time we could be doing small fixes to 40 houses,” he said, adding that the current model requires reconsideration.

READ MORE: Profound sadness in the community at the passing of one of Clonmel's finest