New social housing scheme for Monkstown estate

Work on the much-anticipated scheme at Devenish Drive is due to start in the next financial year.

“A scheme to deliver 12 units on Housing Executive land at Devenish Drive is included in the social housing development programme to address housing need in Monkstown. The Housing Executive is in the process of nominating a housing association to progress proposals and it is anticipated the scheme will be going on site in 2016/17,” a Housing Executive spokesperson told the Times.

Welcoming the announcement, chairman of Monkstown Community Association, David McCrea said the group has been working with the Housing Executive and local politicians for many months in a bid to secure new social housing in the estate.

“After completion of a needs analysis it became apparent that new dwellings were needed within the Monkstown area. I welcome this announcement and would like to thank everyone involved for making this possible,” he commented.

A statement issued by East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson and local DUP councillors Pamela Barr and Stephen Ross also welcomed the NIHE’s commitment to building 12 new homes.

“We have argued that there is a great need for social housing in the area and our constituency workload would reflect this. This will be the second set of new properties which will have been approved in the estate and we have identified a number of other sites which we would like to see developed to meet the need,” they said.

“Apart from meeting a housing need, the development of this site will remove a problem for those who live nearby and who suffer because of the abuse of the open space at certain times of the year.

“We will continue to work to see the other sites developed in the future.”