Larne high rise flats residents being rehoused

Fifty residents of a block of high rise flats in Larne are being rehoused ahead of demolition, it has been confirmed.
Latharna House (image Google).Latharna House (image Google).
Latharna House (image Google).

Speaking at a meeting of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s Direct Services Committee on Tuesday evening, the Housing Executive’s North Region manager Frank O’Connor told councillors that Latharna House will take approximately 18 months to clear.

“We are not forcing people out. We are saying tell us where you want to go and we will put you top of the waiting list,” Mr O’Connor said.

He reported that the process has only recently commenced.

DUP Coast Road Councillor Angela Smyth asked the Housing Executive manager for a breakdown in social housing provision in Larne, Carrickfergus and Ballymena.

“With the high flats coming down, it leaves Larne with even less social housing,” she stated.

Mr O’ Connor reported that Larne is “not somewhere that is particularly high demand” for social housing.

He noted that a “large number” of Housing Executive properties have been demolished.

The Housing Executive has reported that 181 new social homes were completed during 2019/20 and there are 219 on-site with a further 676 needed in Mid and East Antrim during the next five years and 323 “programmed”.

Bannside DUP Alderman Tommy Nicholl MBE asked if the land to be made available at the Latharna House site can be transferred to the council or if there is an alternative arrangement in place.

He was told: “We need to get the block demolished then look to see if we need it for housing.”

The Housing Executive has estimated that 5,400 new homes are required in the borough by 2030.

In 2016, there were 59,200 households of which 73 per cent were privately owned.  Last year, the average house price in Mid and East Antrim was £136,997.

The Housing Executive owns 5,716 properties in the borough. There were 2,663 applicants for homes last year, an increase of five per cent with 1,427 households presenting as homeless, down by six per cent. There were 546 social housing allocations.

During 2019/20, the Housing Executive delivered “significant housing investment” for a wide range of services and the public sector housing investment totalled £20.26m for Mid and East Antrim. This includes grant aid to housing associations for the building and rental of new houses.

There were 884 tenants receiving help with housing costs through Universal Credit.

Over £1m was spent on home adaptations for disabled tenants.

The Housing Executive currently funds 69 accommodation based services for 1,163 service users in the Mid and East Antrim area as well as four floating support services for 653 service users.

The housing body also spent £1m maintaining green spaces across the borough last year.

Mr O’ Connor also noted that the ‘Affordable Warmth’ scheme continues and applications are being processed. There were 407 installations last year. Read previous story on the scheme here

Carrickfergus DUP Cllr Cheryl Johnson said that most of the complaints she receives are regarding the allocation of points and she queried the allocation of “intimidation points”.

Mr O’Connor indicated that the scheme is “under review” as there was “potential for abuse”.

Sinn Fein Coast Road Cllr James McKeown noted a five per cent increase in housing allocations in rural areas.

“There is a growing need for social housing in rural areas,” he commented.

He was told the waiting list is reviewed every quarter where there are “more people coming into housing stress”.

Last year, there were 552 rural applicants and 2,111, urban, on the waiting list. There were 452 urban allocations and 94, rural.

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter

Read previous housing story here

--

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you.

Related topics: