Though the provision of new, local authority housing in Athlone will be halved this year, this will still allow the town council to complete the clearance of St Mel’s Terrace and commence the long delayed €17m Loughanaskin project in 2011, it was revealed at the annual budget meeting held this week.
Explaining to the gathered councillors how the housing capital allocation had been reduced from €885,000 to €500,000, Aidan Bass from the finance section said how this would only fund the building of three new homes in 2011, as compared to the six last year. Two further compulsorily-purchased properties on Connacht Street will also be brought back to a habitable state under this allocation.
However, Mr Bass did confirm these three units would be prioritised to home the three remaining families from St Mel’s Terrace in the first of the new properties in the Loughanaskin project, named after the townland in which St Mel’s is situated.
This plan was green-lighted by the council two years ago but kept on the long finger on account of the economic downturn, and the difficulties of re-housing the three remaining families in a town with a waiting list for housing of just under 1,500 applicants.
The three new properties will be built on Gracepark Road and the corner at the entrance of Sarsfield Square, and will allow the council demolish the remaining nine properties in three blocks to follow the 16 houses demolished there last year. Under the repair and re-let scheme, a further 56 tenants were housed in 2010.
The meeting was also told that a sum of €225,000 has been provided to assist the Simon Community and Esker House in the provision of emergency housing for the homeless of the town, and that the Government will refund 90 per cent of this. Councillors also allocated an additional €10,000 for the repair of windows and doors of local authority housing for 2011, a figure which had been cut by 45 per cent from last year to €35,000.
Also, after the plan for the Willow Park area secured RAPID status last year, a €20,000 allocation this year will increase the fund for environmental improvements in the area to over €81,000 for this year.
Another government grant of €100,000 allowed the council improve six of its properties to at least a C1 rating under the Building Energy Rating (BER ) system.
