Housing Executive invests £13.19m in new social homes across Causeway Coast and Glens

At a meeting with councillors from Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Housing Executive Chief Executive, Grainia Long presented the annual Housing Investment Plan. Credit NI Housing Executive

Despite a £13.19m investment in new build social homes in the Causeway Coast and Glens area last year, the gap between housing demand and supply continues to widen, the Housing Executive has warned.

Housing Executive Chief Executive, Grainia Long addressed Causeway Coast and Glens Council this week to present the annual Housing Investment Plan.

She told them that NIHE invested £13.19m in new-build, social homes in the council area last year, with 176 units on-site at March 2023, and 67 completions for the year.

Despite this investment, the gap between housing demand and supply continues to widen and the importance of continued partnership with councils and the housing sector to find solutions was highlighted by the Chief Executive.

Housing Executive Chief Executive, Grainia Long reported: “We have invested more in our tenants’ homes across Northern Ireland over the past 12 months (2022/23) than in any of the previous 15 years. This investment has been delivered in a challenging, external environment, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to improving the health and well-being of our tenants.

“In Causeway Coast and Glens, we invested £5.38m on planned maintenance including stock improvements last year, with a further £6.41m spent on response maintenance. We worked hard to support the most vulnerable in our communities with £4.77m invested through the Supporting People programme to fund 71 services provided by partner organisations across the borough. This investment provided housing support to 1,513 people last year.

“Across the borough, 758 people who presented as homeless were accepted for support last year. Our focus on prevention and early intervention will continue with the aim of providing a sustainable model of provision to prevent homelessness.”

Ms Long continued: “We were able to support local communities with more than £42.7k funding through our community grants, community safety and community cohesion programmes. We recognise the importance of inclusion and good relations in helping people sustain their tenancies and build strong communities.

“We know this is more important than ever when we continue to face challenges in the housing sector with ongoing demand for social housing and homelessness services. Last year, £13.19m was invested in new-build homes in the borough, with 176 housing association units on-site at March 2023, and 67 housing completions for the year.

“Despite this investment, the gap between housing demand and supply continues to widen and we recognise the importance of continued partnership with councils and the housing sector to find solutions.”

Last year, NIHE invested £1.5m specifically on energy efficiency improvement measures across their own homes with plans to sustain this investment during 2023/24.

“This investment includes the delivery of one of the largest retrofit programmes across the UK, which will see vast improvements in the energy performance of over 1,000 of our homes across Northern Ireland, including Causeway Coast and Glens. In addition to investing in homes and communities in 2022/23, we are also pleased to have been able to support the economic future of Causeway Coast and Glens with a steady, positive impact on employment and local supply chains,” added Ms Long.

“Looking ahead to next year there is no doubt that we will continue to face challenges however we remain fully committed to the objectives set out in our Housing Investment Plan 2023 -26."