101 new homes to be built in Enniscorthy as council seeks to address chronic shortage of four-beds in the town

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

The chronic shortage of four-bed properties in Enniscorthy is to be addressed with the delivery of nine new units in a large-scale project in The Lyre.

A total of 101 homes are to be built in The Lyre with construction expected to commence next summer and take at least two years to complete. Those homes will be a mixture of affordable (44) and social (57) and will include one-bed apartments and the much-needed four-beds.

Presenting the details of the scheme at the July meeting of the Enniscorthy Municipal District (EMD) county architect Shay Howell said every effort had been made to meet the demands of those in need of housing.

“The affordable properties will consist of six 4-beds, 18 two-bed houses, 18 three-beds, and 2 two-bed bungalows,” he said. “The social homes will consist of 34 one-bed apartments, 10 two-bed apartments, 6 two-bed houses, 4 three-beds, and 3 four-beds - one of which will be for a family (already identified) with special needs.”

Explaining that the apartments would be universally designed and be contained within a complex featuring an elevator and a shared space on the ground floor, Mr Howell proposed that the affordable homes section of the development be entitled Cúil na Laidhre (Corner of The Lyre) with the social homes going by the name Gort na Laidhre (Field of the Lyre).

For Councillor Jackser Owens, who has repeatedly raised the issue of the lack of larger properties for families in Enniscorthy, news that the development would contain a number of four-beds was a great relief.

“There were 16 applicants for a four-bed property the last time one became available so I’m delighted to see those being included,” he said. “There’s currently 21 people on our housing list looking for a four-bed.”

And while Cllr Barbara Anne Murphy shared in the general enthusiasm for the project, she was less enamoured with the proposed names.

“Gort na Laidhre is not very creative, we have a number of places with Gort in the name,” she said, “I’d prefer Pairc na Laidhre, it would still be as Gaeilge.”

Happy to accede to this request, Mr Howell said the hope was that construction in The Lyre would begin in the summer of 2027 and take at least two years to complete.