*The Feakle Rd in Ballyminoge in Scariff. Photograph: Ruth Griffin
SCARIFF’s planned social housing scheme has met an early hiccup with the construction date delayed.
Although it was stated by Clare County Council’s Director of Social Development which has responsibility for housing, Anne Haugh at the November meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District that construction on the €6m social housing scheme in Scariff would commence before Christmas with the Department of Housing putting pressure on Councils not to delay projects. She has now confirmed that the December start on site will not happen.
Speaking at Monday’s meeting of the County Council, Ms Haugh admitted that “post-tender administration” had delayed the planned start. She said that the Council now intends to award the contract for the proposed eighteen unit development in January and complete the signing in the New Year.
This “post-tender administration” is the legal checks associated carried out by the Council on the prospective tender, The Clare Echo understands.
Cllr Pat Burke (FG) told The Clare Echo, “I’m disappointed with the delay, we were led to believe back in the summer that things would be well underway by now”.
With the one month delay from December 2022 to January 2023, the local authority will still work towards its targeted completion date of the first quarter of 2024.
Developments carried out by local authorities are often referred to as ‘Part 8 developments’ which is in reference to Part 8 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended, which sets out the procedure for carrying out such developments. Such works would include developments such as the construction of houses, roads, swimming pools, public toilets and more.
Part 8 approval has been granted for the Scariff social housing scheme with the tender assessment for construction complete.
At the Killaloe MD meeting last month, the Director detailed that the successful tender had been notified.
Clare County Council in November 2020 lodged plans for the scheme which will be called ‘Droichead Nua’ and will be located at the Feakle Road in Ballyminoge, Scariff. Stage three approval was granted for the development in July of this year by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Approval was granted with an all-in budget of €6,093,289 including VAT in July.
Fourteen apartments, twelve of which will have two bedrooms will make up the development which will also have two semi-detached, two-storey, three-bedroom houses, with adaptations.
