Local Fears In North Clare Of Anti-Social Behaviour In Newly Planned Social Housing Development

It is feared and unexpected social housing development will lead to a rampant spate of anti-social

behavior in North Claire in 2019, the local authority granted permission for the refurbishment

of the Enestime and Convent to encompass 30 residential units.

It was initially expected that the project would be earmarked for older people, however,

it's understood the properties are now intended for social housing.

Cahirluck of the West Claire Municipal District and Lahinch Finnegale Councilor Bill Slattery,

Bill Emotion that you raised at this meeting of the West Claire MD was that it had what

was previously earmarked for an older person's housing development at the outside of the

old town.

This broadcast package on Claire FM is funded by the local democracy reporting scheme.

Your look of the West Claire Municipal District and Lahinch Finnegale Councilor Bill Slattery,

Bill Emotion that you raised at this meeting of the West Claire MD was that it had what

housing development at the side of the old convent and an assignment, it's now understood

that the developer is favoring making that a social housing estate and, say, the least,

you have a lot of concerns.

I have a lot of concerns, because as you know, I was a certain meeting and this has been

brought to my attention because this planning application went in in 2019 for the village

for the elderly and it was built and in in 2025 last year their planning was dropped and

a new planning application was made for affordable and social housing.

I understand now that these patterns, 31 of them, could be our social housing and where

this site is located, it's such a nice, isolated site, I don't think it's suitable for social

housing.

In that particular area, we've cited two schools and at the back of the convent and

people are worried that this, where it is situated, that this might end up to be a second

kind of a belly-moan building or something like that, it's three stories high and I'm

just afraid if it's all going to be social housing, that it's not going to be good for

an assignment and I want the people in the assignment to know that we'll let them know

what we think is what happened there and let them decide themselves with anti-sort

behavior and stuff like that.

So for that reason, I brought it to the put on a motion with concertality today to bring

it to the attention of the people that we want to let them know, but we think it might

be going here and we want to get clarification on it.

It's just very quickly to say that the point here is that a lack of maintenance and

access to services available, as you mentioned in the meeting, their FUs can lead to certain

conditions over time and that's the fear, basically.

Well, do you go back to the back road and look down at this building and you can see why

I'm so concerned, it's so isolated, it's a tower-like building which is not good for

social housing and we are afraid that a lot of anti-sort behavior and as I said today

at the meeting, clear county council are not good at maintaining social houses even

though the director said today that they were, but from our experience here and in the

assignment and other places like Hiroshi here today, they haven't got a very good record

and we are afraid that this, if this is our social housing, that you'll go to record

room.

An assignment for all councilor Chantal D'Shan, you similarly raised concerns and that

you pointed to the condition that some social housing states in an assignment in North

Claire that were developed in the past are now in.

Yes, so this was a joint motion that we both wanted to highlight as opposed to the council

management and to the public or genuine concerns that if this development is going to become

an entirely social housing development, well, the public understand and know what the

county council's track record and legacy is in in a slam and around those such developments

while there might be award-winning on their development and initial opening, there hasn't

been sufficient management of maintenance and day-to-day management on site and as

opposed to the, as Bill says, this type of building, it's the all kind of building plus

a new one adjacent to it, two, you know, two other, three-story high buildings, a total

31 apartments, just that volume of people housed in in a small location, overlooked in

the secondary school, overlooked in the primary school, relatively isolated site within

the town and just huge concerns that what will that look like in a year and five years

time and ten years time, and what will that do again for the legacy, as I said, to Claire

County Council, how they look after social housing in a slam and in particular.

And what kind of things are you hearing from constituents at the moment?

Well, there's some upset, I suppose, that the initial plans where it was understood to

be an entirely development directed towards elderly and towards retirement, you know, people

in their 50s onwards, I suppose, one and two bedroom apartments, wait on site services

and supports and kind of a model of retirement village, that's what people anticipated, but

now this is kind of way from that, it's the planning has been amended to allow for residential

of any type, so that means it could be potentially be young families, it could still be elderly

as well, but I suppose it's to ensure that whatever the long-term option is here that that

appropriate assessment is made around how those houses are allocated and how the site

and services and facilities is managed afterwards.

Yeah, and that has to be said, there is a lot of this point to because the way from the

fears of anti-social behavior or for this coming into rack and ruin or for this being

unsightly or unhygienic or anything like that, there was elderly people, and I suppose

you could say if I wanted a better term, vulnerable members of the community, they thought,

but we'll have ideal housing in the centre of the town, and it looks like those dreams

are dashed. They are, they are dashed if this happens, but as

concertality knows, I had representations got from people that wanted to downsize and move

in from the country and they have made, they've come to me and asked me about these houses,

I went back to inquire, why aren't these being advertised, as I said, the planning went

in in 2019, changed again in 2025, some of those people were very anxious to move into

this time, and if it was to be for the elderly, but now with this question Mark Overs, I'd say,

if this, and I'm not trying to, to scope or anything about these social, we are only housing,

but not in this particular area, and I think people would not move into this if this, you know,

if this is going to be our social housing. Even if I'll come through shantalities, that

shane, if this could work, this is something that I understand you'd also be in favour of,

if we could get developments that are held up maybe in Spanish point or are on release to

Spanish point and facilitate a measure where we can pump that down to Guilty, whether it's

that's very capacity. Yeah, I mean in principle the likes of the Meadow Hotel is a huge and critical

employer in Whistler, massive and Spanish point built on the area, and the ongoing success of

the hotel is critical to economic survival in Whistler, so where are the owners have taken a

brave private investment decision to try and ensure the future viability hotel by creating a

storage connection between the hotel and Guilty, I think it's an opportune time that the water

services, Irish water and Clare County Council would be looking at this and see what other

possibilities does it open up for other residents and other businesses in the area to ensure

and enhance the future prospects for some place like Spanish point.

This broadcast package on Clare FM is funded by the local democracy reporting scheme.

Thanks to Daredon for bringing us that report.