A new 'Ready to Build' scheme that will see serviced sites made available at a discounted price for people in Waterford to build their own home has been announced.
Under the scheme, Waterford City and County Council will make serviced sites in towns and villages available at a discounted rate of up to €30,000 from the market value.
The discount will be determined by the cost of servicing the area. A serviced site is one that has the necessary infrastructure such as electricity, water and wastewater.
The announcement of the scheme was made by Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD and the Minister of State with responsibility for Local Government and Planning, Peter Burke TD.
“We know there is a great appetite out there for people to build their own homes in our many towns and villages. This scheme will provide many people in Waterford with a real opportunity to do so," Minister O'Brien said.
Many areas in towns and villages face the blight of vacant and undeveloped sites, which, if brought back into use, could add vibrancy to those communities.
The scheme fulfils a commitment in the Government’s Housing for All plan, and supports the Our Rural Future policy, as well as the recently published Town Centre First policy, which aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres.
"Not only does this policy support greater housing but, in line with the Government’s Town Centre First policy, it will make towns and villages more viable and attractive places in which to live, work, visit and run a business,” Minister Burke said.
Requirements:
- Applicants may only purchase one site under this scheme,
- The site must be used to build a home, which will be the applicant’s principal private residence once completed,
- If an applicant is not a first-time buyer or ‘Fresh Starter’, they must plan to move from their current home that they are selling or have sold, and want to live in a town or village setting,
- Applicants must have their tax affairs in order and have tax clearance from Revenue,
- Applicants must apply for planning permission to build their principal private residence on the site within 3 months of receiving approval to purchase and payment of deposit. Where this does not happen the site will revert to the local authority. Transfer of ownership (and payment of balance of purchase) shall only take place on confirmation of receipt of planning permission.
- Building must start within 12 months of receipt of planning permission. Where this does not occur, the full monetary value of the discount must be repaid to the local authority.
- Applicants must agree to the clawback conditions set out in the application, where the purchaser sells the property /site or it ceases to be their principal private residence within a ten year period.
All sites will be will be advertised on Waterford City and County Council's website and once up, applications can be made.
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