Plans move ahead for redevelopment of Laois homes for social housing
Seven new social homes will be created in Portlaoise
The planned redevelopment of a number of Edwardian homes in Portlaoise for social housing has moved forward.
The Iona property development by Laois County Council covers three vacant houses and a garage on the Abbeyleix Road in Portlaoise.
House numbers 4, 5 and 6 between Market Square and JFL Avenue are included in the plans.
Four modern apartments will be built on the site and the three red brick houses will be renovated to create a total of seven new social homes.
The project has long been in the works, with Laois County Council purchasing the Iona house in 2018 for €109,000.
The plans have now progressed, with Laois County Council seeking applications for tender of the project.
The 15-month contract will have an estimated value of €2.2 million.
The documents submitted with the advertisement for tender state that the project will involve the undertaking of opening up and ground investigation works on the site.
Works will also involve the examination of boundary walls to site and underground utilities.
A report submitted alongside the documents note that one of the houses, house number 6, is in “extremely poor conditions with significant structural dilapidation and is to be approached with caution.”
Documents added that a “number of areas are not safe to access” in the house, and before works can commence the contractor and PSCS must “assess and ensure the safe and secure access of the works area.”
The three houses on the Abbeyleix Road are all part of an architectural conservation area and “all work to the existing fabric are to be completed in accordance with the architect’s drawings.”
Some elements of the homes are to be retained where possible, such as historic doors and door frames which are to be repaired and restored by a specialist joiner.
Some historic windows on house number 6 must also be retained, repaired and restored.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme