LATEST: Work begins on 219 affordable and social homes at the former Devoy Barracks in Naas  

The Land Development Agency (LDA) has today started construction on the development of 219 affordable and social homes at the former Devoy Barracks in Naas, Co Kildare.

Mullingar-based Andrews Construction has been appointed as the contractor for the development with the first homes due to be delivered in 2025.

The A-rated homes are being constructed on a State-owned 4.14-hectare site, located on John Devoy Road to the southwest of Naas Town Centre. The land was previously part of the former Devoy Barracks complex and the site was made available to the LDA by The Housing Agency.

Planning permission for the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) was approved by An Bord Pleanála in October 2022 with the housing mix including terraced houses, duplexes and apartments. The homes will be set across two to five storeys, and the development will be augmented with car parking, green open spaces and a creche.

The new homes will be well-serviced by transport links with regular public transport services to Dublin city centre and surrounding towns. They will also be within easy access of the M9 and M7 motorways while there are a wide range of services and amenities in both Naas and the wider Kildare area.

The housing includes 42 two-storey, three-bed houses, 177 apartments and duplexes consisting of 64 one-bed, 105 two-bed and eight three-bed units. All of the three-bed houses will have gardens and solar panels while the apartments will feature balconies or terraces.

The development will also include a total of 4,684 sq m of communal open space, 314 car parking spaces and 482 bicycle parking spaces.

John Coleman, Chief Executive of the LDA, said: “This is a key development in a great location, and we are delighted that a contractor has been appointed and construction has now begun. The LDA is already on site in Shanganagh in Dublin and at St Kevin’s Hospital in Cork, so it is fantastic to add Devoy Barracks to our social and affordable housing delivery  pipeline with yet more projects awaiting planning permission and others at various stages of the delivery process. One of the key roles of the LDA is to identify State-owned land that is suitable for housing delivery and to oversee the provision of housing on such sites if and when they are transferred to us. We have put considerable effort into this process and earlier this year published the Report on Relevant Public Land to advise the government on the potential use of key sites for housing. We are pleased that we are now making considerable progress and we would like to thank the State agencies and public bodies who are working with us to provide land as they are playing a crucial part in helping to address the country’s housing need.”

Bob Jordan, Chief Executive Officer of The Housing Agency said: “We are delighted to have made this site available to the LDA and to see this important housing project now starting construction. It is one of three sites The Housing Agency has made available to the LDA, with the others being at Castlelands in Balbriggan and at Hacketstown in Skerries.”

Donal Quirke, Managing Director of Andrews Construction said: “We are delighted to have been appointed as the contractors for this strategic and important housing development. We have been building quality family homes for over 40 years and have always sought to be at the forefront of the construction industry, ensuring the delivery of high quality homes on schedule. We are excited to be working with the LDA and we look forward to completing this project and welcoming new residents in 2025.”

About the LDA

The LDA is the State’s affordable housing delivery body. It is in the process of delivering more than 8,000 homes on State-owned land and over 5,000 through the Government’s Project Tosaigh initiative. Th e agency has existing planning permission for over 3,600 affordable homes on State-owned lands with many projects already under construction and others at the advanced planning stage. In addition to the direct delivery of homes on state-owned or private land, the LDA is overseeing Project Tosaigh, an initiative whereby the agency steps in to purchase stalled or unviable housing projects and then makes the homes available to renters or to buyers at costs significantly below market rents or full market purchase prices. Under this scheme, the LDA has an initial delivery schedule of 2,500 homes and is on course to deliver 5,000 by 2026. The LDA recently produced the Report on Relevant Public Land, which advised the government of the potential to deliver 67,000 homes on 83 underutilised State-owned sites. It also announced plans to purchase private sites with planning permission in the country’s five major cities.

Direct delivery

The LDA’s direct delivery projects include the construction of 265 homes at St Kevin’s Hospital in Cork, a former HSE site, and the development of 597 homes in Shanganagh in Dublin in partnership with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. It also includes 817 homes at a site at Castlelands in Balbriggan in Dublin, 345 in Hacketstown in Skerries in Dublin, 219 at Devoy Barracks in Naas, Co. Kildare, 852 on the former Central Mental Hospital site in Dundrum, Dublin 14 and 543 at St Teresa’s Gardens in Dublin’s south innercity in partnership with Dublin City Council. A further 3,700 homes are currently in the design and development phase. 

Project Tosaigh

Project Tosaigh is an LDA initiative, whereby the agency steps in to kick-start stalled or unviable housing projects and then makes the new homes available to renters on a cost rental basis or to purchasers at an affordable cost. The LDA has already launched a number of Project Tosaigh schemes. They include the release of 142 cost rental homes in Archers Wood in Delgany in Wicklow and the initial release of 95 in Parklands on Fortunestown Lane in Citywest in Dublin. The homes in Delgany were delivered in association with Cairn Homes while the homes in Citywest were delivered in association with Harcourt Developments. A further 247 cost rental homes are under construction in Hansfield in Dublin 15 in association with the McGarrell Reilly Group. Other Project Tosaigh developments include the delivery of 81 homes at The Mills in Castletroy in Limerick in partnership with Cairn Homes, 69 in Hollystown in Dublin in partnership with Glenveagh, and 204 in Cookstown in Tallaght in partnership with Willow Street Capital. The LDA has also launched a number of affordable purchase Project Tosaigh developments. This includes the phased launch of 92 homes in Clonmore in Mallow in Cork, 95 in Summerfields in Kilbarry in Waterford and 50 in Baker Hall in Navan. The homes in Clonmore were delivered in association with the O’Flynn Group. The homes in Kilbarry were delivered in partnership with the Whitebox Group and the Baker Hall homes were built by Glenveagh. These homes can be purchased by eligible candidates under local authority shared equity schemes. Further Project Tosaigh developments are due to be announced soon.