Land Development Agency starts largest public housing scheme

LDA’s Shanganagh passive house development, when completed, will comprise 597 social and affordable homes, with the first completions in 2024.

The Land Development Agency (LDA), in partnership with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, has broken ground on the largest public housing scheme in the state in recent years at Shanganagh, Shankill, Co Dublin. The project’s commencement was marked with a sod-turning ceremony by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien TD, An Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire- Rathdown County Council Councillor Mary Hanafin, and LDA chief executive John Coleman.

Shanganagh is an important milestone in progressing Housing for All (HfA), delivering on the LDA’s mission to unlock state land to deliver large-scale affordable housing projects around the country.

Construction is now underway by Walls Construction on 597 homes, with the first being available by the end of 2024. The homes at Shanganagh will be 100% affordable, with 51% cost rental (306 homes), 15% affordable purchase (91 homes) and 34% social housing (200 homes). The development will offer a mix of accommodations suitable for single people, couples, and families, with 99 of the new homes to have three bedrooms.

Largest ‘passive house’ scheme

The development will be the largest residential scheme certified to achieve the ‘passive house’ low energy use standard, which has significantly lower energy consumption and associated heating costs compared to other new builds.

Sustainability features include very low energy demand, low car parking provision (0.54 spaces per home), high bicycle parking provision of over 1,300 spaces, and design features to make working from home easier.

An important step

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said, “Shanganagh is exactly the kind of development we envisaged when the LDA was established – a state-owned developer and homebuilder building new housing on publicly-owned lands.

“There is a strong mix of different housing types, including social housing for people on the housing list, cost-rental properties for low- and middle-income workers living in Dublin, and affordable housing for families to purchase. That’s the right approach. It’s really encouraging to see significant progress being made and the start of the largest public housing scheme in the state. It’s another important step to achieving our target of building 40,000 new homes a year by the end of the decade.”

Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, said: “I’m delighted to see works begin here in Shanganagh, with much-needed social and affordable homes being delivered. These homes will be of extremely high quality, serviced by a host of amenities, providing safe and secure homes for life. The LDA is central to our HfA plan and are working closely with our local authorities and my department to deliver social and affordable housing in significant sites across our cities and towns. I want to commend them for bringing this project to fruition, and I look forward to seeing it progress.”

Land Development Agency

John Coleman, CEO, LDA, said, “Breaking ground here at Shanganagh is a very important moment for the LDA in delivering on our mission to accelerate the delivery of affordable housing on state land. We are particularly proud of the scale of the Shanganagh scheme, which will be the largest direct-build public housing scheme in the state in recent years. The project’s design is rooted in sustainability and energy efficiency and will deliver a large quantity of much-needed affordable and social housing to the area.”

Sustainability at Shanganagh

Shanganagh is the latest LDA project which, this year, has sought permission for over 2,300 homes around the country, 100% of which will be affordable and social.

A key feature of the Shanganagh development is sustainability. Elements of the design include high density and compact site layout with a net development density of 85 units per hectare. All apartments have been designed to achieve the passive house standard.

There will be car parking provision of 334 spaces for residents and visitors, in addition to 31 spaces for a creche, café and shop. This equates to a ratio of 0.54 spaces per home.

Car parking spaces have been made available for car-sharing schemes.

A centralised district hot water heating system will utilise renewable energy heat pumps, which will provide both economies of scale and reduced operating and maintenance costs. Communal lounge areas, community and function rooms and an external village square will be used for social events and will engender community integration. Business pods and co-working units will assist residents who work from home or run small businesses.