Something big building in Meath

Jackie Maguire, CEO, Meath County Council

Finally, housing is picking up

We’re doing our best to play our part, as a local authority, in seeing the greatest number of houses built in the county, as quickly as possible.  A quick search of the online planning applications show that there’s a pretty impressive 16 pages of planning applications submitted in just the last four weeks. Understandably there’s a rigorous planning process to be gone through but the figures speak for themselves. It looks like next year could be an excellent year for the building sector in Meath.

16,000 planning permissions

It’s the same story across the country. Planning permissions for new homes are now at a seven-year high. The latest stats, published yesterday, show that there’s a strong rebound in house building. In Quarter 3 2016 permissions were granted for almost 6,000 houses, more than double the same number in Q3 2015. In fact, that quarterly number means that there were over 16,000 permissions granted across the State in the last twelve months, a significant rebound from the lows of the recession.

7,500 new jobs

The #MakeItMeath campaign is about bringing jobs to Meath: 7,500 of them over the next three years. As those job numbers build there will be a natural demand for extra housing. So, as well as looking for business people to bring jobs to Meath we’re also looking for builders and developers to cast an eye on the county to see where the opportunities are for them. The Meath County Council Economic Team has been specifically established to give a dedicated point of reference for anyone who is helping with our job creation project. That includes those with plans for large housing developments.

30,000 homes

Yesterday’s official figures show the largest increase in home types was in apartments (up over 300%). But, what are called multi-development houses applications have jumped by a very respectable 132% just in that same quarter. And there’s plenty more to go. In 2005 there were 100,000 planning permissions granted across the State. The view is that Ireland needs a minimum of 30,000 new homes each year for the foreseeable future. And we hope to see our fair share of those to be built in Meath during that time.

This could be your opportunity

Our #MakeItMeath message is simple. We’re going to make economic development happen across the county. Our dedicated team, and the wider County Council, is set and ready to help those who will help us to make this happen. If you’re one of those people, from Ireland or abroad, please get in contact with us today. That way you’ll find out why we’re known as Europe’s most business-friendly region.