Housing takes priority in ‘ambitious’ €564m capital investment plan

Housing is a key priority for Meath Co Council in its capital investment plan with €564m to be spent over the next three years in the area.

The plan aims to deliver over 2,000 social and affordable homes by the end of 2026 with 67 per cent of capital investment expenditure earmarked for housing.

Details of the plan were outlined to councillors at their October meeting last week by Head of Finance Sheila Harkin.

Overall, spending of €847,000 on capital projects is forecast over the three years of the plan with 81 per cent of this to be grant funded. The remainder will come the Council's own resources, mainly from amenity levies.

Chief Executive Fiona Lawless (pictured left) said there is a strong emphasis on housing, economic development and climate. "The good news is this a plan that is going to give you over 2,000 houses in the next three years," she said.

She said it a rolling plan and that things may be added to it, but generally things don't get taken away. However, she did caution that at the moment they don't have enough amenity levies to do all of the projects but explained that some will take longer to come to fruition by the time they go through the various stages to get to construction.

Sheila Harkin, Head of Finance, outlined how the plan provides for ongoing commitment to projects already underway, or about to commence, and to further develop proposed projects that have provisional funding and commitment in place.

Outside of grant funding which will account for 81 per cent, she said that levies is the next main source of funding and the Council currently has €28.4m in levies. While it is hard to predict how many levies they will collect over the next three years, an estimate of €8,000 has been included between roads and amenity levies.

"Even with that, we will still be short €15m to fund every project on programme but as it is a rolling programme, timing and phasing can vary and we are very confident we will be able to deliver the projects," Ms Harkin said.

She described it as a "positive and ambitious programme for Meath" with estimated expenditure of €847m. The biggest chunk of €564m will be spent on housing, which represents 67 per cent of the overall spend.

A total of €160m has been earmarked for roads, €60 in recreation and amenity, €46m for environmental protection, €10.5m for planning and economic development, €6m miscellaneous.

In housing, €564m is to be spent over the three years, made up of €396m in the area of construction, acquisition and work with voluntary bodies. This will deliver an additional 1,450 units with 1,000 units to be built, about 90 acquisitions and 360 units through working with the voluntary housing bodies.

Funding of €25m has been earmarked for land acquisition and the Council continues to seek lands for the construction of local authority homes and if lands become available, this will be funded through loans.

NOW READ: Meath Co Council has spent €562m on major capital projects since 2019

A further €105m is down for part five social and affordables homes and approximately 300 homes will be delivered through the part five mechanism.

Funding of €3.1m is allocated for the Traveller Accommodation Programme, to continue work on St Francis park and to provide new units under the Traveller Accommodation Plan.

Also under housing, €21m has been allocated for energy upgrades of existing housing stock showing commitment to the green agenda and improving energy efficiency. This is partially grant funded but around €7m will come from Council resources.

Affordable measures including the affordable homes scheme and affordable sites scheme are earmarked for €13.5m and would includes schemes similar to the homes delivered in the Willows in Dunshaughlin and Baker Hall in Navan. The next biggest chunk of capital spending of €161m will go on roads in the county. The Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) major schemes have been allocated €2.2m including €1.7m for the N2 Slane Bypass and public realm enhancement.

Other national road networks are earmarked for €17.3m which is funded through TII for projects such as the N51 to Wickers Cross (phase two), and the N52 Grange to Clontail.

The Specific Improvement Grant Scheme has been allocated €1.4m for next year from the Dept of Transport with full funding for future years to be confirmed.

Funding of 38m is earmarked for non national road improvement works, the most significant being LDR4 which is the link road between the Kells Road and the Windtown Road which has been allocated €15m. Five million has been allocated for works in Dunboyne/Pace/Clonee.

A further €73m will be invested in active travel projects most notably €28m on the Navan Cycle Network which is grant funding by the NTA. A total of €3.8m has been allocated for greenways, €4.2m on traffic management projects, while €700,000 is down for transport studies to gather data to use in seeking additional funding for transport initiatives.

The public lighting upgrade programme with €10m of the Council's own resources down for this.

Under the heading, planning and economic development, €6.5m is down for land acquisition. Ms Harkin said: "We don't have sufficient land for developing our economic land bank but we are actively pursuing land as and when it becomes available. Economic activity is a key driver for our economy so we will be actively pursuing land for economic development."

Funding of €1.8m is to be spent in the area of tourism and heritage. Included in this is heritage capital grant of just under a million including Blackfriary and Hill of Ward.

Over €500,000 is allocated for the Irish Walled Town Network including Navan, Trim and Kells. Spending of €350,000 is forecast on the Hill of Tara Conservation Management Plan, which is from Council resources.

Around €8.8m will be spent on the fire service include equipment and upgrades and extensions to facilities.

From its own resources, Meath County Council will spent in the region of €8.2m on burial grounds. This includes €2.6m for Stamullen, €2.5m for Trim, €1.5m for an extension in Navan, with €550,000 earmarked for Dunboyne. Further funding of €1.35m is for burial ground/columbarium wall future works including both land purchases and works.

Climate Change and energy efficiency will a priority for the capital programme in line with national policy with €5.5m set aside for climate change and energy efficiency initiatives.

In the area of beach management includes €750,000 is to be spent on car parking facilities with €2.3m set aside for coastal erosion.

Environmental and waste remediation is to receive funding of €8.78m with €6m of this for the remediation of illegal landfill sites. Upgrading of existing amenity sites has been allocated funding of €360,000.

Meath County Council has been successful in securing funding the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) in respect of the Flowerhill Regeneration Project which will receive almost €10m. Seventy-five per cent of this is grant funded.

This includes €2.27m on streetscape enhancement, €4.1m on a river park walkway, €1.72m on a community with a further 1.825m for a frontage improvement scheme.

Also under URDF, a revolving fund of €6.5m has been set aside for projects which are at the early evaluation stage with further details to be outlined when this is done. A sum of €200,000 is set aside for the Spicers/Andy Brennan Park/Ramparts project.

In the area of recreation and amenity, the €60m spend will include €8m on libraries, courthouses, swimming pools and arts centre, for ongoing day-to-day work and improvements and the continuation of projects already under way.

The Community Amenity Grant scheme is being continued which accounts for €1.8m. This provides for each €100,000 for community projects in each of the six municipal district areas for the three years. Other schemes that are mainly grant funded include town and village renewal of €4,37m, CLÁR funding of €1.95m, and ORIS (Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme) of €3.96m

Under the RGDF, funding of €3.48m has been earmarked for a variety of projects including Kells Creative Placemaking-the Bigger Picture (€603,500), Kells Printworks and Centre for Typography at the Sawmills (€985,000), Enfield Park and Ride (€60,000), Enfield Community Facility and Town Centre Parking (€60,000), Oldcastle Town Centre including play park (€795,000) and Dunshaughlin Courthouse and town centre (€986,000). These projects are 75 per cent funded.

Funding of €25m is down for continuation of and new applications for the URDF and the RRDF and Town Centre First. This will be for existing projects and to progress new projects that are shovel ready.

Amenity projects include €700,000 for Ashbourne Liner Park and a further €1.5m towards Ashbourne Park. Ms Harkin said they don't yet have a site in Ashbourne for the park but hoped to have lands in place by the end of 2024 and be able to progress with it.

A sum of €1.4m is to be spent on long awaited community facilities for Johnstown. Ms Harkin said the landowner is engaging with Meath County Council on the transfer of lands and once this is complete, design work will start on the playing fields, community building and playground.

Funding of €5m is allocated for civic offices, depot improvements and fleet replacement. Ms Harkin said nothing has been included for additional capacity at the headquarters as they are awaiting a decision from An Bord Pleanala.

In the area of IT, €750,000 has been set aside for infrastructure replacement and business software solutions.