LDA Land Acquisition Initiative

• Land acquisition programme will support and supplement the agency’s objective of increasing its annual output through direct delivery mechanisms.

The Land Development Agency (LDA) has today announced that it is seeking expressions of interest from landowners as it plans to purchase privately-owned sites for the delivery of affordable housing.

The LDA’s land acquisition programme will support and supplement the agency’s objective of increasing its annual output of affordable homes through direct delivery mechanisms.

The LDA was set up to deliver affordable housing on State-owned land. It has also subsequently been tasked with running Project Tosaigh, a Government initiative whereby the LDA steps in to purchase and complete stalled or unviable housing projects in partnership with developers and then makes the homes available through affordable purchase or cost rental schemes.

As part of its remit, the LDA also has the option of buying privately-owned land to deliver affordable housing and it has now identified the need and opportunity to do this.

The LDA will consider all submissions received, but landowners should be aware that the land acquisition initiative will be initially focussed on large-scale sites that could be used for higher density homes in the five main cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford.

The LDA is particularly seeking large-scale sites with existing planning permission for 200 plus homes. The agency will assess the sites referred to it according to criteria such as transport links, development viability and building cost efficiencies. Sites close to or near existing State-owned lands will be of particular interest.

Interested parties can find the expressions of interest information and submission documents and requirements here

https://lda.ie/projects/private-land-acquisition

The potential purchase of private land will add to the LDA’s other methods of housing delivery including direct delivery on State-owned land. The agency’s remit includes strategic land assembly and housing delivery. It is currently working with public bodies to identify State-owned lands suitable for acquisition and the advancement of housing delivery. It is also actively involved in plans for new communities and housing delivery on a number of strategic parcels of land owned by the State.

John Coleman, chief executive of the LDA said:
"The LDA is seeking to maximise every opportunity to deliver affordable housing. The agency is already delivering affordable homes on State-owned land and in partnership with developers through the Project Tosaigh initiative. As we continue to grow and maintain a steady pipeline of affordable housing, it makes sense to also look at potential opportunities involving the outright purchase of privately-owned land and we are now seeking expressions of interest from landowners in this regard. We believe it is possible to acquire sites in the country's main cities at costs that allow for the development of affordable housing, particularly in cases where we can deploy the LDA's expertise and experience at scale on projects that will deliver the right housing in the right place."

About the Land Development Agency

The LDA is the State’s affordable housing delivery body. It is in the process of delivering 5,000 homes on State-owned land and 5,000 through the Government’s Project Tosaigh initiative.

The agency has planning permission for over 3,500 homes on State-owned lands with many projects already under construction. This includes the delivery of 265 homes at St Kevin’s Hospital in Cork, a former HSE site, and the development of 597 homes on a site in Shanaganagh in Dublin in partnership with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

It also includes 817 homes at a site at Castlelands in Balbriggan in Dublin, 345 in Hacketstown in Skerries in Dublin, 219 at Devoy Barracks in Naas, Co. Kildare, 852 on the former Central Mental Hospital site in Dundrum, Dublin 14 and 543 at St Teresa’s Gardens in Dublin’s south inner city in partnership with Dublin City Council. A further 1,500 homes are currently in the design and development phase.

In addition to delivering homes on State-owned land, the LDA is overseeing Project Tosaigh, an initiative where the agency steps in to purchase stalled or unviable housing projects and then makes the homes available as either cost rental or affordable purchase. Under this scheme, the LDA is on course to deliver 5,000 homes by 2026. Project Tosaigh includes affordable purchase homes in Mallow, Co Cork (92 in total) and Kilbarry, Co Waterford (95 in total).

The LDA is also in the progress of delivering 247 cost-rental homes in Hansfield in Dublin 15, 142 in Archers Wood in Delgany and 95 in Parklands, Citywest in Dublin. Further projects are due to be announced soon and the LDA has a strong delivery pipeline of affordable homes for 2023 and beyond.

The LDA also recently produced the Report on Relevant Public Land, which advised the government of the potential to deliver 67,000 homes on 83 underutilised State-owned sites.