Plans for social housing on site in Howth put on hold due to cost increases, council says

The fox crept out of the woods above Howth’s Main Street, sneaking through the weeds at the edge of an old park on Tuckett’s Lane.

It lay down in the grass, and watched five boys in school tracksuits boot about an old football. The kids had thrown down their bags to play on a stretch of gritty tarmacadam next to the grassy area.

Their goal posts were four rusty red and blue poles, remnants of the playground that was once here. There used to be a few more of them.

Around the edges of the deteriorating park were muddy slopes, which were, until recently, covered in shrubs.

All okay for a kickabout, but not overly inviting. More like a site cleared for construction.

That tarmac has been in this state for a long time, says Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan.

Ten years ago, Fingal County Council had plans to redevelop it as a proper park, he said. “But the council, when they were looking for housing sites, they zoned it for residential and decided to put housing there.”

In February 2019, the council granted planning permission for eight social homes on the site, said Fianna Fáil Councillor Cathal Haughey on Friday.

Last month though, on 25 March, he was told they would be putting construction on hold, he says. “Basically due to an increase in cost.”

Now the site’s future is unclear, with the council planning to use it for a “temporary compound”, says Haughey – although what that will actually entail is equally vague.

The council should seriously consider going back to its original idea for the park, he says. “It’s just a shame it’s been left like this for so long.”

A council spokesperson, on Tuesday evening, said they are continuing to assess the viability of the location for housing.

Change of plan

The site had basically been the local playground, says a 2006 council architectural conservation report for the St Nessan’s Terrace, St Peter’s Terrace, Seaview Terrace and The Haggard area.

Councillors zoned the park for housing in the council’s development plan for 2005 to 2011.

Still though, in 2015, Fingal County Council set aside €50,000 to redevelop it as a park, according to a council report from the next year.

Then, in November 2018, officials put forward a planning proposal to build homes there, via the Part 8 process, when the council applies to itself for permission.

Architectural drawings for the proposal show that the existing green area would be turned into housing, and the decrepit play area would be transformed into an open space, featuring a seating area and “play sculpture.”

It wasn’t warmly received, says O’Callaghan, the Social Democrats TD. “People were disappointed that the playground wasn’t being provided.”

Few people chimed in during the public consultation. But of the three submissions made, none were in line with the council’s vision.

Children in the locale used the park, said John Breslin in his contribution. “The area should perhaps be further considered for development as a playground and green area for the residents and children of the area.”

It should be rezoned as a park, said Amanda and David Farren in their response.

Nevertheless, in February 2019, councillors voted through the council’s application to build the eight social homes.

The project was approved to go to tender in the summer of 2020, according to a Department of Housing’s report. But it stayed put at the tender stage.

Haughey, the Fianna Fáil councillor, said on Friday that he had checked on its status at the recent request of a local. “It seemed to have been cleaned up by the council.”

The council had made some significant progress on getting an agreement from the landlords adjacent to the site, said a report from senior executive officer Aoife Lawler on 25 March.

“However, a review of the costs has indicated that in the current climate it is not viable to build on this site,” it said.

They would not be progressing this immediately, she said. “But we will continually review this situation and maybe progress a scheme in the future.”

Drainage works are to be done on the site over the summer, Haughey said on Friday.

For now, the council’s plan is to use the site for a “temporary compound”, he said. “Now, I’m not sure what exactly that means or what that would entail for the site. But it’s not going to be housing or a landscape.”

A spokesperson for the council, when asked about this compound, said no decision has been made on what will be done with the land in the meantime.

Even if locals were looking for green space, social housing was a good thing to be building given the current shortage, Haughey said.

“If housing can’t go ahead, something has to happen rather than it being used as a temporary compound,” he says.

The council should possibly consider the original idea for a redeveloped park, he says. “It could be a nice area that visitors and locals could use.”