Two new housing schemes will see 51 families, currently on Clare County Council’s housing list, spend Christmas in their new homes.
The schemes, at Lios Anama in Sixmilebridge and Aisling, off Shanaway Road in Ennis, comprise a mix of three and four-bedroom houses with families moving in over the coming week.
Aisling comprises 23 three and four-bed houses whilst Lios Anama consists of 28 three and four-bed houses. Both schemes were developed by Co-operative Housing Ireland (CHI) in partnership with Clare County Council while the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) had a crucial role in the development of the Aisling scheme. CHI is the national organisation for co-operative housing in Ireland.
These modern high-quality homes are located within easy reach of local services, schools and amenities in Ennis and Sixmilebridge. In addition to completion of construction works to the external shells of both developments, Clare County Council, CHI and NAMA also ensured that the internal fit out of heating systems, kitchens, bathrooms etc. were all carried out in accordance with a high-quality finish.
Families moving into the homes are drawn from Clare County Council’s housing list and some of the households are coming from homelessness or overcrowded accommodation. Residents in each scheme will become shareholding members of a local co-operative society and will be able to exercise a real say in the management of their community.
Funding for both schemes is a result of collaborative support between Clare County Council, the Housing Finance Agency and the Department for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government. NAMA’s pivotal role in the delivery of the Aisling development saw the homes provided through NAMA’s special purpose company, NARPS, which was established to expedite social housing delivery. Following significant investment by NAMA on completion and remediation works to the unfinished homes, the houses were made available to Co-Operative Housing Ireland on a long-term lease.
Director of Housing with Clare County Council, Liam Conneally said “The completion of the two schemes will provide much needed family homes, giving parents and their children a secure and stable environment that will help them get on with their lives, their education and their futures. We continue to work hard to accommodate those on our housing list and look forward to further collaboration with CHI”.
Kieron Brennan CEO, Co-operative Housing Ireland said “We’ve developed an excellent relationship with Clare County Council in recent years. Clare County Council has been to the fore in addressing the serious lack of housing issues in the county and has moved quickly to ensure the delivery of new homes. The work by NAMA, through their NARPS vehicle is also crucial in providing high-quality housing to the social and affordable housing sector”.
Co-operative Housing Ireland is the national organisation for co operative housing in Ireland. Established in 1973 it is an approved housing body which works closely with various stakeholders in the housing sector including local councils, government, aspiring home owners, tenants and developers to provide high quality social-rented and home ownership co-operative homes across the country.