Carlow Council 'should go in all guns blazing' over sale of social houses

THE question of why nearly half of the houses in the Foran’s Way affordable housing development in Tullow will now be sold on the private market by BHA Developments was raised by two councillors at a this month's county council meeting.

Cllr Adrienne Wallace described the decision as a “shocking development” and asked CEO Coilín O’Reilly to provide an update. “If 48 houses are promised, I imagine 48 houses should be delivered,” she noted, and asked how the contractor, BHA Construction Ltd, managed to get out of its contractual commitments.

Reaction to the news was one of “devastation,” cllr Wallace went on to say. “People are upset, they were hoping that they would get one of the houses. I understand it is more with the developer and Department of Housing, but the council shouldn't be quiet, we should go in all guns blazing,” she continued.

The three-bedroom terraced properties in Foran's Way are on sale from €345,000 and four-bedroom semi-detached home for €450,000 through June Doran Properties. 

In response, Mr O’Reilly said there were “layers of complexity” to the development. “In essence, there’s a developer and there’s an approved housing body … they had an agreement to deliver social homes and came to us as the local authority for support to make a submission to the Department of Housing for funding. We supported that submission and the funding was put in place for those 48 social homes.” “For some very complex reasons that I can’t go into, the developer has decided they would rather sell 22 of what were previously designated as social homes as private homes.” He explained that the contract was renegotiated and “changed somewhat and gives the developer wiggle room to get out of it.” However, Mr O’Reilly was at pains to assure councillors that the council remains funded, committed and willing to see all 48 units become social housing.

“We are in ongoing discussions with the developer and the approved housing body. With the best will in the world, other than trying to convince people to sell their private property to us, having the money in place, there’s very little ourselves or the department can do at this point,” he said in response to cllr Wallace’s question.

“How much more are we willing to pay?” cllr Ben Ward asked the chief executive regarding the possibility of purchasing the houses at market rates.

“You said there’s very little that we can do, but I think one thing that we can do is not give into people who are trying to get us to pay more money.” He described the government as becoming a “cash cow” for housing developers that is driving a rise in the price of houses. “I accept there’s an increase in construction costs,” he noted, but said it couldn’t explain how nearly half the houses in the development were lost to social housing.

“I think we need to have a firm position on this because it sets a precedent for every single housing development. It’s the taxpayers’ money that is going to make up the difference so that they can get more profit, ultimately,” cllr Ward concluded.

Mr O’Reilly said he had sympathy for developers who have had to deal with construction inflation since 2019, referring to the tripling in the price of concrete over the past five years. “In the time between when contracts are signed and delivery that has huge changes. I’m not talking about this project specifically,” he said.

He accepted cllr Ward’s point about fixed price contracting but explained that because developers are involved in multiple housing projects across the region “if we play hardball and put them out of business, then all those houses fall by the wayside.” Mr O’Reilly did agree that when an upswing in costs occurs, it must be properly assessed by a quantity surveyor. “It’s about balance; it's about making sure you’re not being had, that you’re getting value for money for the state.”