Over €50m investment for Wexford projects as James Browne confirms plans for over ten thousand new homes

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Over €50m is to be invested in five projects across Wexford as Housing Minister James Browne continues efforts to unlock land for the delivery of housing.

Announcing the projects, which are in Enniscorthy, Gorey, and Wexford town, the minister said they are part of a major multi-annual commitment to housing as part of the Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund (HIIF) programme.

The largest project will see €20m allocated for the Milehouse to Moyne Link Road in Enniscorthy. Approximately 2km long, the new link road will include an upgrade of pedestrian linkage in Greenville and Cherryorchard/Caim Road to include footpaths, pedestrian crossing and public lighting. From a housing perspective, the link road will “directly unlock” lands for 1,600 residential units and indirectly unlocks a further 1,100 residential units.

Further north, in Gorey, more than €10m in funding is to be provided for the St Waldron’s Strategic Transport Link. This will include a combined rail and road overbridge and a new junction. The scheme connects adjacent neighbourhoods of Creagh, Ballytegan, Clonattin.

When complete, the transport link will directly unlock lands for 820 residential units and indirectly unlock a further 1,428 residential units.

Just under €10m is to be allocated for safety works in Ballytegan in Gorey with footpaths works at the Arklow Road Junction to St. Walerans (Northern Boundary) and St Walerans (Northern Boundary) to The Rock GAA entrance. This will unlock lands for over 2,000 housing units.

The Ballynagee Link Road, which is tied to projects including two new schools, a new SETU campus, and a new Wexford FC stadium, will receive over €10m in funding. When this road is constructed, it will enable the construction of almost 4,000 houses.

Lastly, in Enniscorthy, €4m in funding has been awarded to complete the Turret Rocks Link Road which will connect Esmonde Road to Spring Valley and open up lands for 424 houses.

Announcing the projects being funded Minister Browne said: “I am delivering for Wexford. Today, I am making the first announcements under the Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund. I invited Local Authorities and the Land Development Agency to apply for funding to progress infrastructure projects that will unlock housing in towns and cities across the country – with an emphasis on shovel ready projects and works which can be quickly started.

Traffic Lights on Ballytegan Road Gorey. © Sabrina Ffrench

“I am intensely focused on delivering more homes but also on delivering the best possible environment for constructing more homes,” the Enniscorthy TD continued. “Across the country, we see zoned land lying idle because the critical enabling infrastructure needed to support housing development is not in place.

“The projects I am providing funding for today will directly tackle this problem. By investing now, we can accelerate home building.”

The five schemes in Wexford are part of 82 infrastructure projects across Ireland which will be supported in the first phase of the Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund (HIIF) programme. The approved projects will directly enable the delivery of 86,000 new homes and provide the potential for a further 113,000 homes.