Minister for Housing & Planning Jan O’Sullivan TD today 5th July 2012, published a report on progress being made in tackling unfinished housing developments.
Minister O’Sullivan stated that: “In June 2011, the Government announced a range of actions to address the problems posed by unfinished housing developments. Through a National Co-ordination Committee that I chair, a comprehensive suite of actions have been taken on most of the recommendations contained in the Final Report of the Advisory Group on Unfinished Housing Developments”.
Actions have been taken in areas such as:
1. Bringing together developers, banks, NAMA, local authorities, state agencies and representatives of residents in creating a more co-ordinated approach;
2. Putting in place site resolution plans, many of which are underway, that have a real impact on the ground and bring significant improvements to residents;
3. Tackling public safety issues that have arisen on some unfinished housing developments;
4. Raising confidence in our ability to tackle this problem by providing guidance and support.
“The report I am publishing today demonstrates that significant progress has been achieved in addressing the serious problem of unfinished housing estates. On 211 estates work has been completed and issues are now resolved. In 523 estates plans are now in place and in many of these cases work has commenced and significant progress will be achieved over the coming months. In addition Government funding to target the most serious public safety issues has seen more than €3m invested in 128 developments to ensure that families and neighbours aren’t exposed to safety risks.”
“While progress has been achieved I don’t want to underestimate the challenge that lies ahead. There are still too many families living on or nearby unfinished developments whose quality of life is seriously affected. One of the important aspects of the work achieved in the past 12 months is that we now have a real partnership between local authorities, residents, developers and funders and a common will to tackle this issue. I am determined to see additional progress in the coming year.”
Minister O’ Sullivan also pointed out that ”recognising the complexity of the issues, it is taking time to progressively tackle the problems that have arisen but I applaud the extensive efforts being made by local authorities, the Housing Agency, NAMA, the Health and Safety Authority and financial institutions that are starting to yield tangible results”.
The Department’s 2011 National Housing Development Survey inspected 2,876 housing development sites of two or more dwellings and of these, 701 were recorded as effectively complete and 109 developments were recorded as having no substantial works commenced. Taking the developments above from the survey of 2,876 sites left a total of 2,066 unfinished housing developments.
The report of the National Co-ordination Committee on Unfinished Housing published by the Minister and available on both the Departments website
www.environ.ie and the Housing Agency’s website
www.housing.ie highlights that in relation to these and some older developments, by the end of April 2012:
Local authorities requested the preparation of site resolution plans on a total of 770 developments;
136 developments have had site resolution plans completed with a further 75 unfinished housing developments being completed and taken over by the relevant local authority for future maintenance purposes meaning that 211 developments have now been effectively resolved; and
523 additional developments are currently being resolved through action by the developer and/or funder as in the case of a receiver appointed by a lending institution.
In terms of improving public safety on unfinished housing developments, the report states that:
128 developments were approved for funding under the Departments Public Safety Initiative involving a total of €3.17m with a significant improvement in living conditions for residents;
29 developments are in the process of urgent remedial works funded by NAMA through debtors/receivers to address public safety related concerns at a cost of around €3m paid for by NAMA, with a further 137 sites being examined; and
20 sites have been addressed through action by the Health and Safety Authority ensuring developers are complying with the Health and Safety at Work Act.
The Minister welcomed the findings above stating that: “The National Co-ordination Committee has met on eight occasions since its establishment in summer 2011 and the figures in the 1st progress report are evidence of a very real government and agency wide commitment to progressively tackle this complex issue
Minister O’Sullivan added that: “I know for a fact that local authorities particularly have mobilised around this issue in a way that results in almost every unfinished housing development across the country seeing action under one and in most cases several of the various headings, such as site resolution, planning enforcement, public safety and environmental compliance and I thank them for that commitment, which is essential in ensuring the development of sustainable communities in our cities, towns and villages”
Turning to the year ahead, Minister O’Sullivan pointed out that she was determined to continue the positive work of the past year, while moving on new priorities including:
(1) Improved monitoring systems to ensure that the various enforcement and site resolution planning activities currently underway translate into practical impact on the ground;
(2) Ensuring vacant homes in suitable locations and in good condition are brought into beneficial use to meet the housing needs of the country;
(3) Identifying any residual developments or parts thereof that may not be capable of long term beneficial use and, in conjunction with their owners, funders and the relevant authorities, develop and implement proposals for these developments, including clearance where necessary;
(4) Further improve the data on unfinished housing developments throughout the country including an updated 2012 Housing Development Survey, for completion by Autumn 2012, which will incorporate a simplified categorisation of developments focusing on those portions of developments in a seriously problematic condition; and
(5) Finalising clearer standard guidance on matters such as development bonds, the phasing of developments and relevant matters to avoid a repeat of mistakes from the past as and when the housing development sector starts to recover and there are housing developments commencing into the future.
Finally, Minister O’Sullivan stated that: “This is a complex issue. The economic and housing collapse saw some people’s aspiration for a home descend into chaos, with families enduring the hardship of living in the midst of a housing estate and rapidly increasing negative equity. Quick fixes are not an option, but I am determined that many more residents in unfinished housing developments will begin to see a real difference in their living conditions in the year ahead to the point where this is no longer an issue impacting on the day-to-day lives of families or constantly hitting headlines here and abroad”.