Creamfields to churn out hundreds of new homes

More than 600 new homes are expected to be delivered as part of a new development at Creamfields on the Kinsale Road.

The development, which is being built by Respond, will be located on the former Cork Milk Producers site. It will consist of 606 properties - 225 social homes and 381 cost rental – over four phases.

The first phase, which is estimated to be completed by Q2 2028 will come to 112 properties, with phases two, three, and four delivering 268, 167, and 59 homes respectively.

The final product is expected to consist of 558 apartments and 48 duplex houses.

Respond’s CEO Aoife Watters said the development was Respond’s biggest in Cork to date, and “one of the most ambitious projects in our national home building programme”.

“We have made a long-term commitment to deliver high-quality social and cost rental homes at scale in urban areas like Cork, where people want to live and thrive. Partnership is at the heart of everything we do in Respond and we see the results of these successful partnerships here today in Cork,” she said.

The social homes will be assigned to tenants from the Cork City Council housing waiting list upon completion, while the cost rental homes will be allocated by lottery, at rental rates at least 25% below market rates.

The project is being developed in partnership with Cork City Council, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and the Housing Finance Agency. Construction is being led by Cairn Homes.

Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Fergal Dennehy said he was “proud to see Cork showing leadership and vision when it comes to social housing delivery and building at scale like this to deliver sustainable housing solutions that will make a real difference in people’s lives for generations to come”.

Cork City Council Chief Executive Valerie O’Sullivan said the scheme “shows what can be achieved when ambitious and dynamic local authorities work in partnership with equally ambitious partners. It will transform a brownfield site into a new suburban neighbourhood with high-quality homes alongside new social and cultural spaces.”

An Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who turned the sod on the development, said the new development represents a major step forward in addressing housing need, while also building strong communities.

He added: “Housing developments of this scale are not just about bricks and mortar – they are about security, dignity and building long-term sustainable communities for generations to come.

“It represents what can be achieved when the Government, local authorities, approved housing bodies and the private construction sector come together with a shared sense of purpose to tackle our housing issue,” he said.

This article was produced with the support of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme funded by Coimisiún na Meán.