Tipperary County Council’s Ready to Build Scheme opens for applications

Tipperary County Council’s Ready to Build Scheme opened for applications this week.

Applications will be accepted from March 25 until April 12 at 5pm.

Housing Officer Shane Grogan gave a presentation to councillors at this month’s plenary meeting.

The pilot scheme aims to help people with mid-level incomes to develop homes in rural communities.

Mr Grogan told the council that the scheme is currently limited to four sites in Boherlahan.

If successful, the pilot scheme could be rolled out to other parts of Tipperary.

How it works

A person can apply to purchase one of the available sites in a town or village to build a house.

The site can be purchased for a discount of €28,250 and first-time buyers will be prioritised.

If there are not enough first-time applications, those who qualify under the fresh start principle, those moving to a village and those with disabilities will be next in line.

There are no income restrictions on purchasing the land, and ownership will only be transferred after the applicant has successfully applied for planning permission.

The purchaser has 12 months to do this, but there is a mechanism to extend that to a further 12 months in extenuating circumstances.

Response

Councillors from across Tipperary welcomed the opening of the scheme.

But, they also called for the scheme to be rolled out across the county.

Cashel councillor Declan Burgess welcomed the pilot in Boherlahan and asked that the council operate clinics to help people navigate the application process.

Cllr Joe Hanigan said it was great news for Boherlahan.

“I admire Boherlahan. It is a lovely village, and this will be a boost for the village,” said Cllr Hanigan.

Cllr Pat English asked if the council had “earmarked” other sites in Tipperary.

AnneMarie Ryan joined her colleagues in calling for an extension of the scheme.

“Four is a great start, but we need more like this,” said Cllr Ryan.

Cllr Mairin McGrath said: “I wish you well going forward. Young people need this, and mid-income people need it,” said Cllr McGrath.

Mr Grogan told councillors that there are plans for other areas, but this pilot is a “learning process.”

He said Boherlahan was an ideal place to start because of its strong community, services and transport links.

Cllr Hanigan asked what the plan was for going forward.

Director of Services for Housing Sinead Carr responded that they needed to see how this scheme works out before extending it.

“We need to move slowly. The last thing we want is to purchase sites and not be able to offload them, said Ms Carr.

Questions and Answers

Some councillors raised concerns about who could apply for the scheme.

Cllr Michael Fitzgerald asked if an agency could buy up the sites at the discounted rate.

Mr Grogan said that there has to be a separate application for each site and the council will be checking eligibility.

Cllr Jim Ryan asked if the council were doing garda vetting of applicants

“The last thing we want is people with serious criminal history buying with the proceeds of crime,”said Cllr Ryan.

Mr Grogan said they would not be doing any sort of background check because the scheme is not for social housing.

Others asked if the scheme was open to people outside Cashel.

Mr Grogan said yes, it is, but the council will prioritise local applicants.

Application forms and more information is available from the Tipperary County Council website.