Serviced house sites being considered in Kildare for three rural locations

Serviced sites for the provision of houses are being considered at three locations within County Kildare.

A Kildare County Council meeting heard that the site could  provide three to 10 housing units at locations in Clogherinkoe, Ballitore and Kildangan.

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At Clogherinkoe, KCC advertised seven sites for sale at a cost of €45,000 each. But a request for funding to the Department of Housing was not successful and KCC official Annette Aspell expressed concern about the cost and the limits on the number of people who may be eligible to live in rural areas.

Ms Aspell said significant resources are required and while the land is provided at a discount by KCC, “we can’t give away land.”

She also said a funding application for the Clogherinkoe for up to €30,000 per site was not approved at departmental level.

Cllr Tom McDonnell called for suitably serviced land be made available across the county “to support self build housing opportunities for families who wish to build their own homes.”

He said people cannot afford to buy homes and “are forced to emigrate.”

He also said builders should be compelled to provide sites for this purpose on land they are building on.

He said a site of 50 or 60 units would “be a massive help.”

Cllr Suzanne Doyle said this should be encouraged through a community led scheme and this approach would be more likely to succeed  because of the higher costs associated with KCC-led housing projects.

Cllr Tim Durkan said it is proving expensive to buy land and projects like these require State funding because the cost of residential development land is €750,000-€1m an acre for ten houses “if you’re lucky.”

Cllr Ivan Keatley said he is aware of three or four sites in south Kildare which would be suitable for this type of project.