Offaly Oaklee housing project gets funding boost

An Offaly Oaklee housing scheme has been included in a €250,000 funding announcement by the Housing Finance Agency (HFA) for a range of environmental and biodiversity initiatives.

13 initiatives across eleven different counties were chosen for the funding which will see wildflower meadows, tree planting, bug hotels, hedgehog sanctuaries and fruit and vegetable growing schemes.

The HFA, which provides financing to support the delivery of social and affordable housing, awards community project funding to customers each year through its Social Investment Fund. The aim of the fund is to support initiatives that will complement the communities in which HFA-financed homes are built.

Announcing the funding awards, Housing Finance Agency CEO, Barry O’Leary, said there was “great interest” in this year's Social Investment Fund, with a range of creative and well-thought-out applications coming from customers across the country.

He added that the HFA is “committed to supporting customers, not just in the delivery of housing, but also in the enhancement of communities around those homes with this fund. I look forward to seeing the positive impacts that these latest projects deliver for local residents.”

The CEO of Oaklee Housing, Sharon Cosgrove, welcomed the HFA funding for the environmental and biodiversity projects and said it will enable “underused waste ground at our developments across four counties to be transformed into flourishing, biodiverse communal space, designed and developed by the community in those neighbourhoods”.