(L-R) Gene Clayton, CEO of the Iveagh Trust, Ann Uzell, new resident of Annamore Court and Minister for Housing, Eoghan Murphy T.D.
The Iveagh Trust, the oldest social housing provider in the country, was delighted to welcome the Minister for Housing, Planning & Local Government, Mr Eoghan Murphy T.D., as it launched its latest social housing development in Dublin today. Annamore Court is a €10m scheme of 70 x 1 bed high quality apartments, in a supported setting for older people. The largest social housing development to be delivered this year, construction of the 70 new homes was completed within just 18 months.
All tenants for the Annamore Court scheme have been nominated by Dublin City Council from their housing waiting and transfers list, including a number of homeless nominations and transfers from existing local authority tenants that have opted to downsize.
The Trust will provide a range of supports for the tenants at Annamore; a visiting nursing service funded by the Trust, dedicated Tenant Liaison Officers along with a 24/7 on-site staff presence, all helping the scheme to deliver on its overall goal – supporting independent living in the community for as long as possible.
Ann Uzell, receiving the keys to her new home from Minister Murphy
Commenting at the launch, Mr. Gene Clayton, CEO of the Iveagh Trust said:
“This is a great example of what can be achieved by housing associations and local authorities working closely together. The Trust approached Dublin City Council with a proposal to redevelop and completely regenerate what was a derelict sheltered housing scheme of 38 units. The local authority owned site provided the Trust with an opportunity to deliver a state-of-the-art housing scheme for older people, adjacent to a long established community, with an ageing population. The agreed design has almost doubled the number of homes over and above that previously provided on this site.”
“One of the real positives of this scheme is that a substantial number of our new tenants are downsizing from 3 and 4 bed houses, unlocking capacity and freeing up these larger homes for families on the housing waiting list”.
“I would particularly like to thank Ann Uzell who has received the keys to her new home from Minister Eoghan Murphy here today. Ann has decided to downsize from a 4 bed house in Ballyfermot, a house she has lived in, and raised her family in, for 40 years. Ann has generously applied for a transfer so that her home can now be used to house a homeless family. We are delighted to welcome Ann as a tenant of the Iveagh Trust and hope that she has many, many happy years here. In total, 16 of our new residents at Annamore have opted to downsize from larger properties, greatly enhancing the impact of the scheme at Annamore, not only are we delivering 70 apartments, but an additional 16 houses will be returned to Dublin City Council as part of this process.”
“Annamore Court is the first social housing new-build to benefit from funding provided by the Housing Finance Agency and the European Investment Bank, leveraged against 30% CALF finance from the Department of Housing. The release of the land by Dublin City Council has enabled the Trust to deliver these new “A” rated homes at an average cost of just €142,000 per unit.”
“As with all Iveagh Trust developments, our staff will not only work there, but live there. We bring over 125 years of housing management experience to Annamore Court and our team are really looking forward to helping the new community there establish and thrive”.
(L-R) Mr. Paul Harrison, Iveagh Trust Director of Finance, Mr. Gene Clayton, Iveagh Trust Chief Executive and Mr. Eoghan Murphy T.D., Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government
