New wastewater regulations will allow Wexford council to build houses in ‘areas we couldn’t reach before’

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

With 36 families in Bridgetown still bearing the scars of a narrowly-avoided mass eviction, questions are now being asked about providing long-term security for residents in similarly precarious tenancies. It was estimated that half of those families were eligible for affordable housing schemes, a programme which provides newly built homes at prices lower than the market value,

However, with only a handful of those schemes currently available in Co Wexford and demand for the properties far outstripping supply, the onus has been placed on the county council to ramp up delivery.

At the March meeting of Wexford County Council (WCC), Cllr Ger Carthy asked just when an affordable housing scheme would become available in his Rosslare Municipal District (RMD).

“We have loads of developers ready to go on this so we need to start working with them to deliver,” he said. “I would like a monthly update on the status of any schemes we are working on.”

According to director of housing Carolyne Godkin this was very much a work in progress despite Cllr Carthy’s concerns.

“We are involved in a number of discussions regarding affordable housing schemes but we prefer not to announce them until they are confirmed,” she said. “We are working exceptionally hard on this and things are looking good in that space.”

While affordability is one barrier for families in the county, availability is a far greater concern. But an announcement made by Housing Minister James Browne earlier this month may be about to make it a lot easier for both the council and private developers to build in rural areas.

Under the Developer-Led Wastewater Services Infrastructure initiative, developers working with Uisce Éireann (UE) can design and construct wastewater treatment solutions for new housing developments. Once completed, these systems will transfer to UE, who will manage their ongoing operation, maintenance and regulatory compliance.

With developers now invited to construct wastewater treatment systems in tandem with new builds, Cllr Carthy said it was time to look at finally constructing small clusters of houses in the RMD.

"If a developer comes in with a proposal for a communal plant for five houses in the county we need to be able to sell the whole package to the government,” he insisted.

Describing the Developer-Led Wastewater Services Infrastructure initiative as a potential “game-changer”, chief executive Eddie Taaffe said it would allow WCC to build social houses in areas it had previously been unable to reach.

“We all know that some of our villages and smaller towns are going to be a long time waiting for new water treatment systems from UE, and we’d be very interested in speaking to any developer who wanted to start up one of those,” he said.

“We think this will allow us to develop smaller social housing schemes in areas we couldn't reach before, a 5-6 housing scheme could make the world of difference in these places and we can do that with a nature-based solution. I’ve already been in touch with the department of housing about getting funding for these.”