Limerick City and County Council launches programme to build 1,000 homes

LIMERICK City and County Council has today launched a programme that could potentially kick-start inactive planning permissions of almost 1,000 new homes across the city and county.

The Turnkey programme will be open to all small builders and developers who have sites with full planning permission that have yet to be activated, typically due to unavailability of finance.

The programme, launched today by Deputy Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Cllr Adam Teskey, will see the local authority sign contracts for the purchase of new homes, with the price including a "builder’s profit".

With the contract guaranteeing the viability of the project, Turnkey schemes will enable small builders and developers to secure finance, potentially triggering the development of a large number of sites across the city and county that are otherwise in a logjam.

Currently, some 3,500 units have planning permissions but only 11% have been developed, with some of the permissions dating back as far as 10 years.

Launching the project, Deputy Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Cllr Adam Teskey said: “Housing is one of the great issues we face in Ireland today. In Limerick, we have 2,432 applications on our housing list and we are looking at a number of ways of fast-tracking the delivery of homes and the Turnkey campaign we are launching today is just one of them.”

“We have one of the country’s most progressive local authorities here in Limerick and this is further evidence of that,” Cllr Teskey added.

Director of Housing Development with Limerick City and County Council Aoife Duke said: “The Turnkey programme is all about getting live planning permissions that have stalled, particularly due to financial issues, up and running.”

“We are asking small builders and developers with a live planning permission for housing to come and speak to us,” Ms Duke added, “no site is too small.”

Senior Architect at Limerick City and County Council Seamus Hanrahan added: “Turnkey schemes will kickstart permissions that otherwise aren’t viable. Limerick City and County Council will enter into a contract with the small builder or developer to buy the properties at a price that includes builder’s profit.”

“With many of these small projects, the market price would currently be less than the cost of building them. Our role is to assist with overall viability. Our help can unlock your plans. It’s simple to start the process and you’ll be guided along the way”

Small builders or developers can contact the local authority on a special phone line: 061 557344.

If the site is suitable, a cost can be agreed for acquisition and the units are paid for on completion.