Sligo cllr says seriousness of housing crisis in Sligo needs to be tackled urgently



A Sligo cllr says the seriousness of the housing crisis in Sligo needs to be tackled urgently.

The issue was raised at the first meeting since the local election of the Sligo Strandhill area by Sinn Fein Cllr Chris MacManus.

He requested an update from the council on what is being done to pro-actively develop its existing land to build social and affordable housing.

Cllr MacManus says legislation such as the ‘Vacant Sites Register’ and the ‘Derelict Sites Register’ needs to be used to encourage private property owners to develop their sites in order to build new houses.

Council Chief Executive Ciaran Hayes says it is in on-going engagement with the Department of Housing on the issue and the council is examining a number joint ventures going forward to look at how to meet the housing demand.

Mr Hayes says the council will likely make a decision on which is the most suitable model in the next 6 to 9 months.

An application has also been made for Land Assessment Management staff to work on developing houses and it is hoped the council will have clarification on this in the next week.

Cllr MacManus says he welcomes the positive moves made by the local authority to date to help alleviate, what he describes as, the housing crisis in the Sligo Urban area.



Related