With the support of the Department of Environment, Community & Local Government, Drogheda Borough Council has partnered with Tuaith Housing Association to deliver more than 80 new units of social housing in the town where tenants and purchasers will move in between now and Christmas.

The Council is providing 50 new houses at Mell while a further 12 units are being leased at John St that will be managed by Tuaith Housing Association on the Council's behalf. A further 15 units have been purchased by Tuaith at Scotch Hall using a combination of private financing and Dept of Environment, Community & Local Government funding. The Scotch Hall units will be leased by the Council and managed by Tuaith.

At the Mell development, 20 of the units are being bought by people in need of housing – including existing tenants – under the Incremental Purchase Scheme introduced in 2010 to provide an affordable route to home ownership for people renting or waiting for social housing. Drogheda Borough Council received more than 100 applications for the homes available on the scheme, showing the demand that exists for affordable homes. Money received by the Council for the homes will be re-invested to deliver further social housing.

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Also at the Mell, three specially adapted accessible bungalows are being allocated to families who have children with disabilities.

Separately, four one-bedroom apartments at Scotch Hall are being transferred at no cost to the Council as the development complies with a planning requirement that a proportion of all developments be made available for social and affordable housing. In this case, the units will be used to house homeless people.

Commenting on the housing programme, Cllr Paul Bell, Mayor of Drogheda, said: "It is great to see an innovative and creative approach being taken to delivering suitable housing for people on the waiting list in the town. It has been a frustration for some time to see units of accommodation built during the construction boom lying idle while people wait on housing. Through proactively building partnerships with Tuaith Housing Association and other agencies, Drogheda Borough Council has been able to deliver these 81 units of social housing."

(CD)