420 new homes built in Mayo over the last year
SOME 420 new homes were built in Mayo in the 12 months to the end of June 2022 - a 3.4% increase on the previous 12 months.
One year on from its introduction, the government has marked the first 12 months of its ambitious Housing for All plan, citing the progress made in delivering housing for Mayo.
Marking the anniversary, Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien said: “When we launched Housing for All our aim was that everyone should have access to a home to purchase or rent at an affordable price, built to a high standard and in the right place. We backed that with a guaranteed over €4 billion a year in housing investment and a series of actions to deliver 300,000 new homes by 2030, including 90,000 social homes and 54,000 affordable homes. While there’s a lot of work still to do, we can see already, after the first 12 months that the plan is working in Mayo and across the country.”
Among the measures and impacts in Mayo arising from Housing for All are:
* 420 new homes built in Mayo in the 12 months to end of June 2022 (a 3.4% increase on the previous 12 months).
* Commencement notices for 454 homes were received in Mayo in the 12 months to the end of July 2022 (a 15.2% increase on the previous 12 months).
* Planning permissions for 467 homes in Mayo to the end of Q1 2022 (a 44.6% increase on the previous 12 months).
* Approval for 11 new posts in Mayo County Council for local authority housing delivery.
* Introduction of exemption from planning permission requirements for converting vacant Mayo pubs into homes. The existing exemptions to converting vacant commercial premises into homes in Mayo have been extended. Between 2018 and 2021, 103 residential units were provided in county Mayo through 46 notifications of exempted developments.
* In 2021, the government provided almost €25.3m in total funding for housing to Mayo County Council.
* Also in 2021, 122 new social homes were delivered.
* There was a 27% reduction in the number of households on the social housing waiting list in Mayo at the end of 2021 compared to the first annual assessment conducted in September 2016.
Other measures include a new expanded local authority home loan, launch of the first home scheme, New legislation on tenancies of unlimited duration, and the introduction of a vacant property refurbishment grant (through Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Fund) to incentivise the refurbishment of vacant homes, and measures to increase construction sector capacity in Mayo, including greater investment to increase the availability of apprenticeships and training.
Commenting on the role of local authorities in delivering housing in Mayo, the Minister of State for Planning and Local Government, Peter Burke, said: “Mayo County Council is playing a central role in delivering housing in the county. Over the past 12 months the government has provided resources and funding to the council to help it deliver for people in Mayo.
“I’ve recently issued guidelines to Mayo County Council on the making of their county development plan to ensure it takes into account projected housing need so that sufficient new homes can be built in key areas of housing demand. We have also streamlined the processes for the procurement of social housing.”