How over 100 new Mayo homes at two major sites are to be named and numbered is confirmed
111 new housing units across two separate developments in Ballina have been named.
The first site consists of 31 social housing units at the former Duffy’s Bakery site on Kevin Barry Street and James Connolly Street.
The second development is an 80-unit housing scheme located at the former Cheshire Homes site on the Killala Road.
Ballina Municipal District Council first confirmed the naming and numbering arrangements for a new 31-unit social housing development at the former Duffy’s Bakery site.
The development was in the news earlier this year when, on Monday, July 21, a fire broke out at the site.
In response, the council issued a statement clarifying that the project was always intended to provide social housing, putting to bed online misinformation that suggested the development would be used as an International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) centre.
Clean-up works began three weeks after the fire, and an investigation is still ongoing regarding the cause of the fire.
The new dwellings will consist of three three-bedroom units, 14 two-bedroom units and 14 one-bedroom units. These will be split across two three-storey apartment blocks, one two-storey block, and the refurbishment of the existing terrace at 5-7 Raheen Row.
Following inspections by council engineers, there are hopes to have a contractor on site and construction underway before the end of the year.
Although part of a single scheme, the 31 new units will fall under two separate street numbering systems as the development spans both Raheen row, and James Connolly Street.
On Raheen Row, which runs past the railway and bus stations, the council has decided to extend the current numbering system, which runs from one to eight.
On the James Connolly Street side, the new apartments will also continue the existing numbering sequence.
The second development discussed at the joint September and October meeting of the municipal council was the 80-unit development at the former Cheshire Homes site on Killala Road.
The upper section of the estate, which is accessed through Rockwell Estate, will consist of 30 houses.
As these homes form a continuation of the Rockwell street front, councillors agreed that the existing numbering system should be extended to cover them.
The remaining 50 units will be developed on the lower half of the estate, which opens onto Killala Road.
Declan Turnbull, Head of the Ballina Municipal District, explained that the site previously housed Emmanuel House, a residential home that closed in 2011.
To keep the new site synonymous with the area, it was proposed and agreed that these homes be numbered one to 50, Emmanuel Estate.
These 80 units consist of: 20 one-bedroom apartments, 43 two-bedroom apartments, 16 three-bedroom semi-detached houses, and one five-bedroom bungalow.
When councillors approved the part eight planning for the Cheshire Homes site, they unanimously agreed that a portion of the units should be designated as affordable housing, and that traffic-calming measures would need to be introduced in the area.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.