MAI N FE ATURE Hugh McCann, Development Manager, Bluemont.
Sub stantial legislative changes will be needed for H o u s in g f o r A ll t o w o r k HUGH MCCANN, Development Manager, Bluemont, speaks with Robbie Cousins about the opportunities and challenges that Housing for All presents for developers.
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he government’s housing delivery plan up to 2030 Housing for All sets out four pathways to achieve four overarching objectives: Supporting homeownership and increasing affordability; Eradicating homelessness, increasing social housing delivery and supporting social inclusion; Increasing new housing supply; and Addressing vacancy and efficient use of existing stock.
Each pathway contains a set of actions to achieve a specific set of objectives. The plan allocates the largest housing budget in the state’s history to support these pathways, with more than €20bn in funding through the exchequer, the Land Development Agency (LDA) and the Housing Finance Agency over the next five years. This also is intended to support the creation of an enabling framework of a more sustainable housing system to meet the country’s housing needs in the coming years.
BLUEMONT
Bluemont was founded on the back of 20 years of successful project delivery across Ireland and the UK. The brand was established to consolidate the company’s development approach – raising the bar in terms of design while being mindful of buildability and viability. The company focuses on developing residential and healthcare facilities and works out of offices in Dublin and London. As housing development comprises the majority of Bluemont’s portfolio of work, the Housing for All plan will impact the decisions that the developer’s management team make over the coming years. One member of that team Development Manager Hugh McCann, says that Housing for All should be welcomed by the housing
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sector as it proposes more joined-up thinking between government departments and agencies, as well as committing the levels of funding that are required to make a serious impact on addressing the current housing crisis.
HOLISTIC PLAN
“Housing for All gives the sector a plan that for the first time proposes taking a more holistic approach to housing delivery, and it acknowledges many of the challenges that the sector faces in delivering housing,” comments Hugh McCann. “It has ambitious targets. It aims to deliver 156,000 private homes, 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable units, and 18,000 cost rentals. It is good to see these numbers. Its annual target of 33,000 residential units is good, although some think it should be 40,000 units. “The plan’s ambitions are not limited to housing output; it is also setting out to reform the planning process and establish processes and systems that will facilitate more efficient housing delivery. “The fact that the plan is funded from the start is a big plus. The €20bn committed over the next five years shows that the government is serious about trying to deliver.”
SOCIAL HOUSING
As a developer of social housing, McCann says Bluemont welcomes the fact that the role of AHBs is being further enhanced and that the LDA is being given a greater role in the release of public lands for development. He adds that it is essential that there is a genuine allgovernment cross-departmental approach to the plan, including local authority involvement. “Government departments and public agencies must work together to monitor and progress the plan, or it will not succeed.”
