The Land Development Agency (LDA) and Dublin City Council (DCC) have announced that construction is under way on a 146-home development in Coolock in Dublin 5.

An tSrúill on Cromcastle Road in Coolock will include 133 cost rental and 13 social homes, as well as new community, cultural and open spaces. The 1.7-acre site, owned by Dublin City Council, is located on Cromcastle Road at the junction of Oscar Traynor Road and Kilmore Road, near Beaumont Hospital and opposite the Northside Shopping Centre.

The development will include apartments, public open spaces and communal amenities with new landscaping, a public plaza and green spaces to enhance biodiversity. It will also have easy access to a range of local amenities and services including public transport, shopping and schools.

Richard Shakespeare, Chief Executive of Dublin City Council said: “It is fantastic to have broken ground at An tSrúill and we are looking forward to the delivery of what will be 146 high-quality and A-rated homes. This development will add to the housing supply in Dublin 5 and complement another development that DCC is working on at an adjacent site. DCC is committed to maximising the housing potential of land in our ownership and we are continuing to partner effectively with the LDA, whose expertise and experience is helping us to bring projects through the design and planning phases to construction and completion.”

Bennett Construction has been appointed as contractor for the development and is already working on site. The name An tSrúill, which means rivulet in Irish, was chosen and voted for by DCC councillors as it was previously used in 1800 to designate a boundary in the area.

An tSrúill is one of a growing number of developments being delivered by the LDA in partnership with DCC.

Construction will start imminently on 543 homes at Donore Project at St Teresa’s Gardens in Dublin’s south inner city and planning permission has been secured for the first phase of over 1,000 homes in Cherry Orchard Point in west Dublin. The LDA and DCC are also developing plans for a new housing development at Bluebell Waterways in Dublin 12 with the potential to deliver 389 homes.

Planning permission for An tSrúill was secured in February 2024 under a new planning provision introduced for local authorities by the Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien TD.

The S179A temporary exemption allows local authorities to fast-track urgently needed social and affordable housing developments on State-owned lands zoned for residential use and works on this site commenced in late 2024. This is the first time this provision has been used for an LDA project.

John Coleman, Chief Executive of the Land Development Agency said: “We are delighted to get construction started on this 146-home development. An tSrúill is being delivered to the highest standards in an excellent and well-served location with easy access to all local amenities and services. It will provide much-needed cost rental and social housing and it will add significantly to the existing local community, delivering new pedestrian routes and public spaces. This is just one of a number of projects we are working on in partnership with Dublin City Council and I would like to recognise the local authority’s support and its trust in the LDA to assist in the fast-tracking of such large-scale and strategically important housing projects.”

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