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A second meeting of the Kilcullen Co Housing Group will be held in Fallons of Kilcullen on Thursday 18 January in Fallons, writes Brian Byrne.

The event will begin at 7.30pm and will take more information from potential buyers in a proposed 10-house project in the area.

Representatives of the O Chulann Housing Alliance will attend the meeting to answer any questions on their cooperative housing model.

The first meeting of the Kilcullen Co Housing Group was held last month and attracted considerable interest in the concept.

News that Kildare County Council will meet with the O Cualann Cohousing Alliance in coming weeks has been welcomed by Cllr Mark Wall, writes Brian Byrne.

The Alliance's model of cooperative affordable housing, which is in train in Poppintree in Dublin, was the subject of a public meeting in Kilcullen recently.

Cllr Wall, speaking about his motion at Council on the urgent need for affordable housing initiatives in the county, noted that there are banks of Council land 'almost in every village and town in the county'.

"In the absence of a national affordable housing scheme, we must look at other models," he said, adding that he had received a presentation on the O Cualann project which is providing homes to members at prices 30pc below the current market levels.

"Because of the low qualifying limits for Housing Assisted Payments or Social Housing in the region,to a maximum income of �36,000, many individuals and couples cannot get onto the social housing ladder. Instead they face growing private rental charges that are spiralling out of their reach."

Cllr Wall said the O Cualann model could provide for those who are working but find the growing majority of their income is spent on a house that they will never own. He said he will support any new schemes that want to begin building new communities in the county.

Kilcullen has a need for 612 social housing units according to a table published by Kildare County Council, writes Brian Byrne.

Of these, 246 are for 1-bed units, 222 for 2-beds, 136 for 3-bed homes, and 8 for 4-bed units.

A Council official confirmed to the Diary that the figures represent the number of applications on file for social housing support in Kilcullen.

The table, dated November 2017, is published with the Council's call for expressions of interest in providing social housing, to private developers, building contractors, landowners and approved housing bodies.

The Council is seeking to identify lands zoned and suitable for residential development, land with residential planning permission, residential schemes completed or partially completed, and mixed development schemes where social residential components could be incorporated into them.

Interested parties are asked to complete a short questionnaire and return to Mary McCarthy, Housing Capital, Level 5, at �ras Chill Dara, Devoy Park, Naas, Co Kildare. W91 X77F. The questionnaire can be downloaded here and the closing date is 4pm Wednesday 20 December 2017.

A public meeting to discuss a possible co-housing initiative heard that there is no suitable Council-owned land in Kilcullen for such a project, writes Brian Byrne.

Around 20 people turned up to the meeting in Fallons last night, organised by James Brennan, to find out more about the possibility of a cooperative housing plan which could provide homes at an affordable price for those involved.

The concept follows that by the O Cualann Cohousing Alliance project in Poppintree in Dublin, which resulted in homes being built for between �160,000-�190,000 on land provided by the local authority.

James Brennan told those present that he had already been in discussion with Kildare County Council about the possibilities for a site, but the nearest suitable plot of land owned by the authority is in Athgarvan.

"It would be suitable for about 10 homes, and being just seven minutes from Kilcullen, that would be a reasonable compromise for those of us who want to stay in Kilcullen," he said.

The suggested site in Athgravan is in Mountain View. James Brennan noted that the Council did have other, larger sites in Newbridge and Kildare.

Last night's meeting was an exploratory one to gauge the level of interest in the project. Forms were circulated for anyone who wanted to be involved in further meetings.

The meeting heard that participants needed to be 'mortgage ready' just like buying any house, with a 10pc cash deposit available. The deposit money would be used by the housing alliance to commence building the homes, with the mortgages being drawn down as required in the usual way.

The O Cualann Cohousing project has 49 families involved, and the first five homes were handed over last July. All 49 will be occupied by September of next year. The houses are estimated to be about 30pc less expensive than similar in the normal market.

James Brennan told the meeting that an O Cualann representative believed their initiative 'could be replicated all around the country'.

Cllr Joanne Pender said she was 'hugely interested' in the idea, and had previously suggested that the Poppintree promoters be invited to talk to a meeting of the full Council.

"You have to be earning �90,000 a year to buy a house around here for �300,000," she noted. "This is the only way to get affordable housing for people who don't have that."

She suggested that it would make sense for the Council to buy land that was for sale and would be suitable for a larger number of participants in such a project.

James Brennan said it was part of the concept that those involved would already be a community before the project was completed. "That way you get to know your neighbours as it grows."

He thanked those who came along and promised that there would shortly be another meeting, at which representatives of the O Cualann project would be present to answer all questions on the furtherance of a similar scheme in the Kilcullen area.

Pictured are Eliza Dowling, Anthony Shannon, David Campbell, Siobhan Donegan, Sylvisia Stepniak, James Brennan, Clare Kelly and Caoimhe Wall.