Land agency confirms Leeside office
The Land Development Agency (LDA) has said it will open an office in Cork later this year with major plans already in place for St Kevin’s Hospital and the Docklands.
The LDA confirmed on Tuesday that its first offices outside of Dublin will be in Cork as well as Limerick. It has already began working on two projects with a planning application submitted to build 260 new homes on the site of the fire damaged St Kevin’s Hospital.
Meanwhile it has also formed a partnership with Cork City Council to bring forward plans for the regeneration of a 146 acre site in Cork Docklands.
The plan to open a Cork office will facilitate, the LDA said, more flexible working arrangements for staff, but “most importantly” it said the move recognises its role as a national agency with a mandate to help boost the scale of cities outside Dublin, in line with Project Ireland 2040’s ambition for growth outside Dublin.
When public health restrictions allow, the LDA will open offices in Cork and Limerick this year, with more bases outside Dublin planned in the near future.
John Moran, Chair of the LDA said: “I am delighted for the LDA move to be one of the first public sector agencies moving to a distributed working model. Rebalancing the social and economic drivers of Ireland is critical to creating a more liveable and attractive country.
“There is no better time for the LDA to support more balanced regional development by opening offices outside of Dublin. We will benefit from better diversity of thought as to how we prioritise and deliver on our mandate,” he added.
John Coleman, Chief Executive of the LDA said: “The LDA’s mandate of improving the supply of affordable housing and making better use of State land is a nationwide project, and so it is appropriate that we expand our office footprint beyond Dublin.”
The new Land Development Agency Bill currently before the Oireachtas will allow the LDA to identify underused public lands, to draw up masterplans to develop those lands, and to manage the State landbank with the goal of increasing the supply of affordable housing.