Site in Mayo town identified as suitable for large housing project

This was revealed at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
The six-hector site is currently zoned for infrastructure and utility. A report estimates that the cost of development and infrastructure will be between €68,750,000 and €86,450,000.
Dearbhla Lawson, the director of planning services for the Land Development Agency (LDA) outlined details about the site.
Ms Lawson added that 'there may be other sites the local authority has [but], this [site] has been shortlisted out of a longer process. There's probably more infill sites [in Ballina] and I'm very happy to take that forward with the local authority'.
Senator Mark Duffy welcomed the site identified by the LDA, calling it 'promising' and asked the agency to work with him on other sites across Mayo. He proposed the Ballina Mineral Water site located in the town centre. This area had previously been put through a compulsory purchase order by Mayo County Council for a new Tesco supermarket however, the proposal never came to fruition.
'In terms of acreage it's quite small, it's about 4-5 acres,' said the Fine Gael representative.
'While the site might not be the most attractive size, in terms of scale [it] can have a huge impact in being the catalyst for the regeneration of our town' he added.
John Coleman the CEO of the LDA, made clear that the main focus for development had previously been in city areas, but he confirmed that 'we will be looking at opportunities in Mayo going forward'.
Senator Duffy made the point that while he understood the thought process behind the focus on cities, he recognized there are 'financial impediments that make it more cost effective if we target towns over the 10,000 population that can help to unlock a lot of the housing challenges, because this is a crisis that faces every community'.
The type of housing that would be built on the utility site in Ballina is unknown, however the lack of social housing and affordable homes is a Mayo-wide issue, an estimated target of 708 homes are needed under the current Mayo County Development Plan 2022-2028.
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Councillor Peter Flynn, the chair of Mayo County Council's Strategic Policy Committee on Housing, has said he welcomes 'any intervention that will accelerate the delivery of housing in Mayo, particularly for large scale affordable housing schemes'.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Cllr Flynn said, 'The delivery of large-scale affordable houses and apartments is critical to any solution and the demographic of the working poor is a group that needs to be the focus of any initiative particularly in an era of almost full employment,'
"For too long Mayo County Council has failed to deliver in this area and their delivery in relation to Social Housing can be described at best as average. We have seen the extraordinary increase in working people who don't qualify for any Government or Council supports becoming homeless and the needs of these people must be urgently addressed,'
"I would welcome the LDA getting involved in Mayo towns if they particularly focus on affordable housing in suitable locations' he added.
The LDA report was prepared and submitted under Section 52 of the Land Development Agency Act 2021.

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Site in Mayo town identified as suitable for large housing project

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