When complete, Cherrywood in south Dublin will be the largest Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) in the history of the State with some 10,500 new homes accommodating a population of around 26,000 people.

As the largest undeveloped landbank in the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council (DLRCC) area, and the largest of all 11 SDZ projects in Ireland, Cherrywood SDZ presents unique challenges, particularly in coordinating significant infrastructure across multiple landowners.

A new Housing Insights paper by The Housing Agency examines the progressive steps taken by DLRCC and its key stakeholders to ensure that infrastructure is plan-led, phased and strategically provided to support Cherrywood's development.

It shows how physical infrastructure is key to unlocking land for development, including water and drainage facilities, transport infrastructure, utilities and waste management. Social infrastructure - such as parks, schools and other shared amenities - can then be provided in tandem with the physical infrastructure. Both types of infrastructure are key to realising the concept of a "10-minute neighbourhood".

Read the full report here - Housing Insights Issue 5 Supporting Sustainable Communities

The Housing Agency Housing Insight Series aims to disseminate good practice in housing and innovative solutions among housing practitioners in Ireland. The papers provide a case study of effective, practical implementation of a piece of housing policy or practice. The resulting short paper is intended to provide a knowledge base and provide ideas to others in the sector, building the overall capacity of the sector. The Housing Agency sources case studies from our staff, The Housing Agency panels, housing practitioners and stakeholders. This fourth issue of the Housing Insights Series was published in April 2024, on the topic of Office-to-Residential Conversions, featuring case studies from Tuath Housing.

This Housing Agency Policy Insights Series paper describes how Tuath Housing collaborated with stakeholders to successfully carry out two conversion projects in Park West Business Park , Dublin 12 and Springville House, Cork City. It demonstrates the benefits of repurposing a vacant building, as up to 73% of embodied carbon can be saved compared with a demolition and re-build. Office-to-residential conversion projects are a sustainable housing solution, which can help to regenerate areas suffering from vacancy and dereliction, promote the creation of sustainable communities and contribute towards environmental targets. The aim of this case study is to provide the learnings to other social housing providers to be able to replicate with similar projects.

You can access and read the full report here - Policy Insights - Issue 4 

The Housing Agency Housing Insight Series aims to disseminate good practice in housing and innovative solutions among housing practitioners in Ireland. The papers provide a case study of effective, practical implementation of a piece of housing policy or practice. The resulting short paper is intended to provide a knowledge base and provide ideas to others in the sector, building the overall capacity of the sector. The Housing Agency sources case-studies from our staff, The Housing Agency panels, housing practitioners and stakeholders. This third issue of the Housing Insights Series was published in November 2023 on the topic of Reducing turnaround times of empty homes by taking a strategic approach to asset management in Fingal County Council.

This Housing Agency Policy Insights Series paper describes the changes introduced by Fingal County Council to successfully reduce turnaround and re-letting times of void properties. It demonstrates the benefits that can be gained through a strategic asset management approach to social housing stock, which utilises stock condition surveys and planned maintenance programmes. With work currently underway by the Housing Delivery Coordination Office within the LGMA to develop a national housing stock management survey and an ICT Asset Management System, the aim of this case study is to provide information to other Local Authorities / Approved Housing Bodies on the benefits of shifting to a more strategic asset management programme.

Looking to the future, Aoife Lawler (Senior Executive Officer, Housing Department) of Fingal County Council says she would “like to see local authorities having to apply the same standards to their housing in the area of maintenance and repairs that have been required of approved housing bodies, while at the same time ensuring there is adequate funding set aside for this work.”

You can access and read the full report here - Policy Insights Paper Issue 3 

The Housing Agency Housing Insight Series aims to disseminate good practice in housing and innovative solutions among housing practitioners in Ireland. Issues are published quarterly and provide a case study of effective, practical implementation of a piece of housing policy or practice. The resulting short paper is intended to provide a knowledge base and provide ideas to others in the sector, building the overall capacity of the sector. The Housing Agency sources case-studies from our staff, The Housing Agency panels, housing practitioners and stakeholders. This second issue of the Housing Insights Series was published in September 2022 on the topic of Developing a Tenant Engagement Culture and Structure: The Case of Circle VHA.

This Housing Agency Policy Insights Paper describes how Circle VHA has collaborated with tenants to build a tenant engagement culture and structure. It demonstrates the benefits that can be gained – both for tenants and social housing providers – from a structural approach that embeds tenant engagement policy and practice within an organisation’s strategic vision. With the publication in 2022 by the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority (AHBRA) of new standards requiring AHBs to actively seek input from tenants and provide opportunities for engagement on service provision, the aim of this case study is to provide information to other social housing providers developing tenant engagement structures.

You can access and read the full report here

The Housing Agency Housing Insight Series aims to disseminate good practice in housing and innovative solutions among housing practitioners in Ireland. Issues are published quarterly and provide a case study of effective, practical implementation of a piece of housing policy or practice. The resulting short paper is intended to provide a knowledge base and provide ideas to others in the sector, building the overall capacity of the sector. The Housing Agency sources case-studies from our staff, The Housing Agency panels, housing practioners and stakeholders. This first issue of the Housing Insights Series was published in May 2022 on the topic of Homeless Services in the South-East Region of Ireland and can be found on our website.

This Housing Agency Policy Insights paper describes the changes introduced since 2018 in the South-East region which have resulted in local authorities, homelessness service providers, the HSE and other stakeholders working together to provide a more effective, integrated service. This paper also describes some key innovative solutions introduced in the region to tackle homelessness. The purpose of this paper is to showcase good practice in the implementation of homeless policy. In particular, this paper highlights the importance of good management structures and collaborative working.

You can access and read the full report here: Homelessness in the South East - Full Report