South Dublin County Council (SDCC) has launched a new portal to seek provisional expressions of interest from the public for the provision of affordable homes. The launch of the portal follows the recent allocation of €18 million to SDCC by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government through the government’s Serviced Sites Fund to support the development of three sites earmarked for the delivery of affordable homes. The three sites initially being developed plan for an estimated; 300 affordable homes delivered in Killinarden, Tallaght, 135 homes in phase one of the recently approved Clonburris Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) scheme and 100 homes in Rathcoole.
SDCC is now asking members of the public to register their provisional interest for these homes online at www.sdcc.ie/affordablehomes. This initial engagement with the public is to allow the council to gauge the level of interest generally prior to finalising its plans. Further information on eligibility and income limits are expected to be published by the government in the coming months. The delivery of affordable homes is one aspect of SDCC ’s ambitious housing programme aimed at delivering 4500 homes, estimated to be worth in excess of €1 billion over the coming years and is part of its commitment to the governments Rebuilding Ireland programme. It is estimated that up to 1,500 of these new homes will be delivered as affordable and will help low-to-middle income earners purchase their own property. The final breakdown of the five mixed tenure developments will be decided based on the final master plans approved for each site and on the finalisation of the government’s affordable housing scheme.
Speaking at the launch of the portal, Mayor of SDCC , Councillor Vicki Casserly, said, “I am happy to launch the new affordable homes portal for SDCC as the Council looks to address issues of housing affordability that exist for low-to-middle income households. I would encourage people to log on and register their interest with South Dublin County Council for affordable housing in the County.” Daniel McLoughlin, Chief Executive of SDCC, added that “the delivery of affordable housing is a significant but challenging element of our housing strategy. We hope that early engagement with potential applicants will serve us well in understanding sentiment around this issue and guide us in our decision making.” Councillor Charlie O’Connor, Chair of the SDCC Strategic Policy Committee for Housing, said, “I welcome this announcement and the launch of this portal at such an important time of the Council’s housing strategy. I would urge people to make use of the portal and let the Council know of the demand that exists for affordable housing in the County.”
