County Mayor's Diary
Cllr Danny Collins
What fantastic news to open this week’s column! Cork County Council’s 1st tranche of affordable homes will soon be on offer for prospective purchasers who will be able to avail of a discount of up to €75k through the council’s affordable housing scheme.
It was a beautiful sunny morning when Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien joined me in Clonmore, Ballyviniter, Mallow to see these beautifully designed homes. Cork County Council partnered with the Land Development Agency and the O’Flynn Group to deliver this scheme.
Finished to the highest level, the homes are a mix of 3 and 4 bedroom semi-detached with private gardens set in a landscaped family friendly estate. The application process for the first tranche of 38 homes will open at 12 noon on Monday 24 October with 22 of the homes ready to be occupied in 2022 and the balance to be completed in 2023. This Christmas will be extra special for 22 new homeowners.
From housing to services, I recently cut the ribbon on the Cork Mid-West Bundle Sewerage Scheme. Irish Water, in partnership with Cork County Council, opened four new state-of-the-art wastewater treatment facilities in Coachford, Innishannon, Dripsey and Baile Bhúirne/Baile Mhic Íre.
This €27m investment in new wastewater infrastructure will benefit almost 6,000 people while also catering for projected growth in these areas. It’s 6,000 people who will be positively impacted but indirectly water affects all facets of life. Without it, there would be no vegetation on land, no oxygen for animals to breathe and the planet would look entirely different than it does today.
Water is necessary to keep people's bodies and the environment healthy and needs to be valued and protected for the precious resource it is.
Its fantastic to see real delivery on the ground with new homes and new water schemes. Another really positive initiative which you might not be aware of but which I think has a wonderful future is the Four Points of the Island project.
The Shared Island Local Authority Development Fund announced funding of €100,000 for this feasibility study. The study will see Cork County Council collaborate with Kerry County Council, the lead local authority partner, together with Donegal County Council and North Down Borough Council, to establish connections between the Four Points on the island, using their unique experiences and culture to raise the profile of the individual destinations while enhancing visitor footfall and economic benefits to the local communities in a truly sustainable way.
As the 1st quarter of my term as mayor passes, it’s great to see 3 really substantial projects being progressed. I am already looking forward to the next 3 which will continue to support the people of Cork county from a social and economic perspective.