Minister O’Brien launches Oaklee Housing’s 34 Unit Scheme at Weston in Swords

In September, Oaklee Housing launched their 34 general needs social housing scheme at Weston, on Kettles Lane in Swords, North Co. Dublin with the help of Minister for Housing Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD.

The scheme, comprising a mix of three-bedroom houses, three-bedroom duplex apartments and two-bedroom ground floor apartments, is located less than half a kilometre from local amenities at Swords, Kinsealy and Malahide. Designed by John Fleming Architects and built by Ardstone, this development was acquired by Oaklee Housing in partnership with Fingal County Council and was funded using a combination of Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) and private finance provided by Nord.

Speaking at the launch, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD said:
“I am delighted to be here, attending the launch of Weston today and I commend Oaklee Housing Association on their undertaking to deliver 34 quality homes here. Oaklee Housing Association, with support from Fingal County Council, secured funding from my department in combination with private financing, to bring these homes to completion. Fingal County Council continues to show commitment to meet the housing needs of the community and projects such as this, offer a long-term sustainable solution to all involved. Oaklee Housing Association, and other approved housing bodies, have a large number of projects underway here in Fingal and across the country. My department will continue to work closely with all local authorities, and relevant approved housing bodies, to ensure continued delivery of new homes.”

David Healy, Mayor of Fingal, also in attendance at the launch said: “This development at Weston is another excellent example of how Fingal County Council has partnered with an approved housing body to deliver a housing project in the county. Oaklee will be providing housing for 34 families from our housing list and Weston is an excellent development which will benefit from the wide range of facilities already in place in the Kinsealy, Malahide and Portmarnock area.”

Commenting on the importance of the relationship between AHBs and local councils in the ongoing delivery of social housing, AnneMarie Farrelly, CEO of Fingal County Council remarked: “Approved Housing Bodies continue to play an important role in the delivery of social housing and the Council works in partnership with the likes of Oaklee Housing on increasing delivery through the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF), Mortgage to Rent (MTR) and Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS). The construction and leasing of new homes, using private finance and Payment and Availability Agreements (P&A), will be integral to increasing social housing supply for AHBs and, where appropriate, the Council will work collaboratively with AHBs to allow them to purchase or lease newly built dwellings like we have done in Weston with Oaklee.”

Sharon Cosgrove, CEO of Oaklee Housing, announcing at the event the launch of the Oaklee Housing 2020-23 Corporate Strategy said: “Our primary objective is to respond to housing need and to government policy by responsibly delivering as many new homes that we possibly can without compromising on quality. We cannot allow Covid-19, despite its risks, to distract us from this goal. With the support of government, proactive local councils such as Fingal and the commitment of our people, we, Oaklee Housing, will continue to work through the pandemic to ensure that families, like the 34 that will soon be living here, are supported and offered somewhere safe to live. Our core goal across the next three years is to deliver homes. We plan across the live time of this next generation corporate strategy to deliver a further 480 homes and to bring an additional 543 homes into our management.”

Oaklee Housing is an approved housing body (AHB) established in 2000 to deliver high quality modern homes for older people, families, mature single people, and people with complex needs. Collaborating with its statutory and voluntary partners Oaklee has rapidly grown their presence across Ireland to become one of the country’s most ambitious providers of customer-focused housing and support services. Oaklee Housing is a member of the Choice Housing Ireland Group and the Irish Council for Social Housing.

For further information contact: Siobháin Bunni, Head of PR & Communications,
T: 086 194 2397
E: siobhain.bunni@oakleehousing.ie
W: www.oakleehousing.ie