‘A great start to the year’: Plans for 80 new Kilkenny housing units progressing

Plans for a new 80 unit housing development at Drakeland Lower/Kilcreene are moving forward with the statutory consultation phase set to begin this week.

The proposal is a mixed tenure scheme, meaning it will combine social and affordable units as Kilkenny County Council attempts to reduce the number of people on its housing waitlist.

The development would consist of 24 one-bed apartments, 18 two bed-apartments, seven two-bed houses, 26 three-bed houses, four four-bed houses and one four-bed group home.

The statutory consultation will take place from January 16 to February 13 with submissions open until February 27 and a public information evening to be held on a yet to be determined date.

If approved, the development is expected to take between 18 months and two years to be completed.

After being updated on the proposal at their monthly meeting, Kilkenny City Municipal District councillors welcomed the potential for new housing stock but also warned of the continued need for action to battle the worsening national housing crisis.

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“This is a good news day, it’s a great start to the year”, said Cllr David Fitzgerland while Cllr Seán Ó hArgáin highlighted that “we still have a have a housing problem, there’s no point in pretending we don’t”.

The Labour councillor also said that “lack of affordable accommodation is shocking, a generation is locked out” and that he was “wary of patting ourselves too hard on the back”.

Focusing on the significant drop in numbers of those waiting on housing in Kilkenny from over 2,500 to under 1,000 people, Cllr Andrew McGuinness emphasised the “huge reduction in our housing list” and that “at least we’re getting to a point where the list is manageable”.

Cllr Maria Dollard praised the housing office adding that the “work done by Kilkenny County Council is testament to what a local authority can do” but echoed previous sentiments by reminding that “we still have a housing crisis”.

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