Minister Burke officially opens three new social housing developments

Investment of €7.1m combined for Edgeworthstown, Kenagh and Legan

Press Release

7 June 2021

Longford County Council is delighted to welcome the opening of three new social housing developments around county Longford on Friday last by Minister of State for Planning and Local Government and TD for Longford Westmeath Peter Burke.  

All three estates, Cartons in Kenagh, Charlotte’s Row in Edgeworthstown and Rath Reagh in Legan were delivered in late 2020 under the Social Housing Capital Investment Programme (SHCIP) and are currently accommodating a total of 36 adults and 63 children.

The Rath Reagh development at Smithfield in Legan is the largest of the three, with an investment of €5.1m (€5,120,000). It was built by Frank McKenna Construction Ltd with architect CS Pringle Ltd. The units include four three-bedroomed units and 14 four-bedroomed units. All have been allocated apart from one remaining specially adapted bungalow which is expected to be allocated shortly.

The Cartrons scheme in Kenagh includes five new four-bedroomed detached two-storey social housing units built by Faughnan Construction Ltd of Deanscurragh and designed by Cunningham Design and Planning. All five units have been allocated accommodating six adults and 17 children in total with an investment of €1.1m (€1,106,500).

The Charlotte’s Row housing scheme at Church St in Edgeworthstown consists of five newly built two bedroomed semi-detached bungalow social housing units, accommodating 6 adults in total. The contractor involved was VE Curry Construction and the architect involved was Cunningham Design and Planning. All five have been allocated. The investment totalled €928,000.

Opening the schemes Minister Burke said “The Department is absolutely committed to delivering these types of developments through the SHCIP programme. We have so much more to do, we have a huge challenge in front of us, but we are determined, that through a significant change of thinking in how we develop housing in the future, we will continue to deliver these high-quality sustainable housing options, tailored to the needs of our citizens.”

Cathaoirleach Paul Ross welcomed the openings on behalf of the Council paying tribute to the dedication of all of the teams involved. “These projects are all of very high quality and are positive additions to each of their local communities. The Cartons and Rath Reagh schemes in particular were unfinished estates in need of regeneration. It’s wonderful to see Rath Reagh in my home place of Legan complete and full of families after it was meticulously maintained for 10 years by the original developer before Longford County Council were finally in a position to purchase and bring the project to fruition.”

Chief Executive Paddy Mahon agreed, “the finish on these projects is second to none and it’s thanks to the dedication of the construction and design teams involved, to Minister Burke and the Department of Housing for the funding and support and to our own Housing section at Longford County Council for bringing these schemes over the line.”

“New developments, particularly family-oriented ones, add so much vibrancy to local communities and on behalf of Longford County Council we wish all of the new residents in Legan, Kenagh and Edgeworthstown the very best of luck and happiness in their new homes,” he concluded.

ENDS

All media queries should be directed to Longford County Council Communications Officer Denise Canavan on mediaenquiries@longfordcoco.ie or 043 33 43362.