LIMERICK Mayor John Moran has been accused of “dropping the ball” with his modular housing plans.
Fine Gael councillor Sarah Kiely hit out this week at Mayor Moran’s “fluffy” proposals to “ram unsuitable dog boxes into amenities and green spaces” across the city. Such plans, she insisted, should not be accepted.
Cllr Kiely, a Janesboro native, took part in a protest in the Boro Park this week, joining residents in objecting to the preliminary modular housing proposals, first mooted at a recent private briefing with elected members and subsequently highlighted by the City East councillor at a Council housing SPC meeting.
As part of Mayor Moran’s programme to address housing shortages, SMART housing (short-term modular, affordable rental units on temporary sites) is now being looked at to create a transitional solution while permanent housing develops.
The Mayot’s aim is to deliver several thousand units, depending on demand in the local housing market being unmet by traditional methods in the short to medium term.
However, City East representative Sarah Kiely has suggested that she is “not sure if some councillors understood the magnitude of what was being proposed across the city”.
“I feel it is not an appropriate use of money, time, or resources. If this was a viable credible solution it would have happened already.”
The behind-closed-doors briefing saw Boro Park in Janesboro proposed as a site for modular housing. However, Cllr Kiely, a Janesboro resident, doesn’t believe it is suitable.
She also considers other proposed sites, including the Guinness site on Upper Carey’s Road and other locations in Southill, Moyross, and Ballinacurra Weston, not appropriate.
“Some of the areas listed have unresolved issues in their own right. Some sites are in Regeneration areas still suffering from lack of engagement and demolition zones. The so-called SMART housing plan, is in fact, not smart at all and is lacking in imagination and detail on execution,” she hit out.
“To be clear, nobody on the housing list will get a SMART home, they, if built, will be for students and key workers. Another reason the locations are not credible,” she insists.
Cllr Kiely now wants to see permanent homes with amenities built, not modular housing.
“It is important to note also that there is no definition for ‘key workers’. We are told they will be for teachers, nurses, doctors, Limerick City and County Council clerical officers, assistant staff officers, and Gardaí. That is from the presentation given at the private briefing. There was no answer to what the route to planning would be, something very odd and evasive,” she suggested.
Cllr Kiely’s message to Mayor Moran is ‘hands off the Boro Park’.
“Some residents have said they will chain themselves to the gates if any such proposal is forthcoming. The Mayor has dropped the ball on this one and we will not accept his fluffy idea to ram unsuitable dog boxes into amenities and green spaces,” she hit out.
When contacted for comment, Mayor John Moran took the view that Cllr Kiely was “jumping the gun” as the SMART housing plans are still at a preliminary stage.
He indicated that proposals were still being discussed with councillors and were far from conclusive.
“I’m getting calls about this and I’m happy to meet with people when I have something to tell them, and hopefully we’ll be ready to do that after the summer. There will be a few more preliminary briefings with councillors on this yet, so it’s just too soon to say anything at this stage,” Mayor Moran revealed.
