The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne TD has announced that two infrastructure projects in Clare will be supported in the first phase of the Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund (HIIF) programme.
The projects to be funded, as part of a major multi-annual commitment to unlocking land to enable the delivery of housing at scale, include:
Project 1: Ashline, Ennis
Project is a spine road and public realm upgrades (including enhanced pick up/drop off areas and improved pedestrian access to Ennis National School) to unlock housing lands in Ennis
This project will directly unlock lands for 300 residential units and indirectly unlock a further 200 residential units.
Project 2: Claureen, Ennis
Project is for Claureen link road Phase 2 from proposed LIHAF funded Phase 1 road.
This project will directly unlock lands for 600 residential units and indirectly unlock a further 200 residential units.
Administered by the new Housing Activation Office within the Department of Housing, the €1 bn Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund is the largest housing infrastructure fund announced in Ireland for many years.
Announcing the projects being funded in Clare Minister Browne said:
“We are making our first announcements under the Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund. In our first call for applications, we invited Local Authorities and the Land Development Agency to apply for funding to progress infrastructure projects that will unlock housing in towns and cities across the country – with an emphasis on shovel ready projects and works which can be quickly started.
“Having examined all the applications, I am announcing that two projects in Clare will be supported and accelerated under the programme.
“I am intensely focused on delivering more homes but also on delivering the best possible environment for constructing more homes. Across the country, including in Clare we see zoned land lying idle because the critical enabling infrastructure needed to support housing development is not in place. The projects I am providing funding for today will directly tackle this problem. By investing at scale now, we can accelerate home building.”
The HIIF programme funds projects that enable local activation in towns across the country. The Housing Activation Office, will coordinate the multi-agency investment required at all levels, working directly with critical utilities and transport agencies, including Uisce Éireann and ESB Networks, to ensure that complementary investment is provided and that lands are fully serviced and ready to deliver housing.
The Department will continue to develop the HIIF and intends to broaden the approach in its next call for applications later this year which will include a range of public and private sector delivery partners.