NIHE assesses housing need at Carnalbanagh

As part of its rural homes and people strategy, the Housing Executive identifies areas where “hidden need” may exist and an exercise is carried out to identify this need, which will determine if a small new build housing scheme is viable.

Referring to the exercise, Elizabeth Martin, the Housing Executive’s Larne district manager said: “As the regional housing authority, the Housing Executive is responsible for identifying where housing may be required. We examine our waiting lists to help assess the need.

“We are, however, aware that some people in rural locations do not register their interest on waiting lists for their local area because housing to rent may be in short supply or low cost housing to buy may be unavailable. This often means that people move away to areas where the housing they want is more readily available.

“This can in turn lead to rural population decline which can threaten the viability of other local services. We are inviting people, who have not already registered for housing in this area to put their names on the waiting list. This will allow us to take their interest into account when assessing the need for housing in Carnalbanagh. We are not confining this to rented housing, we also want to hear from people interested in private sector housing so that we can highlight this interest to those involved in providing affordable housing.

“Later in the year we will analyse the results of the exercise to determine where new housing may be required and then liaise with housing associations on the provision of new homes. In this way, the Housing Executive can help provide housing which not only addresses individual need but supports rural communities and businesses and contributes to broader rural development across Northern Ireland.”