Current plans for the council’s Mooretown site is that the area will be 35% social housing and 65% affordable purchase.
Officials told Councillors on Friday that currently the development is being developed ‘tenure blind’ meaning that the final decision on the mix of tenures will be made at a later stage but the current plan is for a 35/65 split between social and affordable purchase. Other tenures such as cost-rental are also being considered.
The new council development being brought to Fingal County Council meeting next week.
It was also revealed that the second phase of development cannot come until after 2027 as Irish Water needs to upgrade infrastructure in Swords before any further housing can be given permission.
Further detail on the design of the site has also been given. Four to five storey will be heights of the apartment blocks on the Rathbeale Rd, as part of the new development.
New maps show list the apartment blocks as 4-5 storey, with three-storey duplexes lining the new link road which will lead to Swords Community College.
The rest of the development will be two-storey, including the part of the development which backs onto the existing estate of Cianlea.
The development will include 48 units that meet universal design standards, which can accomodate people of all mobility types, as well as 37 age friendly units.
The proposed development is made up of 274 units, 187 houses, 50 apartments and 37 own door duplexes. A total of 415 car parking spaces will be provided, made up of 357 resident spaces and 58 visitor spaces. 83 EV charging bays will be provided. There will be 1,117 long stay secure bicycle parking spaces with 26 short stay visitor spots.
The landscaping plan for the developent includes a treelined river corridor, a play area, a kickabout space and two ponds which are part of a sustainable urban drainage scheme for the area.
Cllr Ian Carey said:
“The additional information we have received is positive. It’s clear that the design and finishes proposed on these properties is very high quality. In relation to the heights, I think they are approapriate given the need to provide housing. They have designed it in a way that means anywhere the site meets existing homes, they match the height of that development.
“In relation to the tenure mix, I think what is being proposed at the minute is good. Many people in Swords will qualify for affordable housing because the thresholds are now very high. Those people are the group squeezed out of housing and it is right to make them the focus. I’d like to see some cost rental allocations too as it gives opportunities to more people and there are so many hoping to avail of these homes. Overall though I’d like to see a clearer approach from Fingal in relation to tenure mix so that we have an idea of what the council are likely to do with sites of different sizes. I hope that building at this scale will become a central feature of what the local authority does and finding a clear funding model for that to continue at pace is key.
“Commenting on the design, I would like to see more class 1 open space, or a proper park, included in this phase of development. They are leaving all the major open space development to further phases. Given the pressure on our existing open spaces, and for playing pitches in particular, it might be better to try and include that in this phase.
“I would also like to see that walking and cycling link from the Murrough Rd included in this phase. We already see this happening thorugh the fields and it will make that more difficult to control in future. The greater the access to the school the less pressure parents will be on to drive.”
