The Land Development Agency (LDA) and Dublin City Council have commenced construction of a 146-home development in Coolock.

The An tSrúill development on Cromcastle Road in the Dublin 5 suburb will include 133 cost rental and 13 social homes as well as new community, cultural and open spaces.

The 1.7-acre site is owned by the council and located on Cromcastle Road at the junction of Oscar Traynor Road and Kilmore Road, near Beaumont Hospital and opposite the Northside Shopping Centre.

Bennett Construction has been appointed as contract on the project, and works commenced on site late last year after planning permission was secured in February under the S179A temporary exemption for local authorities.

S179a is intended to fast-track social and affordable housing developments on State-owned lands zoned for residential use, and this is the first time the provision has been used for an LDA project.

"We are delighted to get construction started on this 146-home development. An tSrúill is being delivered to the highest standards in an excellent and well-served location with easy access to all local amenities and services," said John Coleman, CEO of the LDA.

"It will provide much-needed cost rental and social housing and it will add significantly to the existing local community, delivering new pedestrian routes and public spaces.

"This is just one of a number of projects we are working on in partnership with Dublin City Council and I would like to recognise the local authority’s support and its trust in the LDA to assist in the fast-tracking of such large-scale and strategically important housing projects.”

Richard Shakespeare, CEO of Dublin City Council, said the development would complement the council's adjacent Oscar Traynor Woods affordable housing project, some works on which were recently suspended due to defects and compliance issues.

"DCC is committed to maximising the housing potential of land in our ownership and we are continuing to partner effectively with the LDA, whose expertise and experience is helping us to bring projects through the design and planning phases to construction and completion," Shakespeare added.

Construction will start imminently on 543 homes at Donore Project at St Teresa’s Gardens in Dublin’s south inner city and planning permission has been secured for the first phase of over 1,000 homes in Cherry Orchard Point in west Dublin.

The LDA and the council are also developing plans for a new housing development at Bluebell Waterways in Dublin 12 with the potential to deliver 389 homes.

Photo: A computer generated image of the An tSrúill development in Coolock. (Pic: LDA/Dublin City Council)