Family move into Housing Executive's first new home in 25 years

Jacqueline Lowry says the new building will be better for her two daughters

The Housing Executive has unveiled its first new social housing scheme in a quarter of a century.

The six new energy efficient homes have been built in north Belfast and the first tenants will moving in within days.

Jacqueline Lowry and her two young daughters have been living in a second-floor apartment and told BBC News NI they had a problem with vermin.

She said moving from a flat to a house would have a huge impact on the quality of their lives.

"It hasn't been great for the kids, from all the building work there have been mice so we have all been living in the one room because we can't go in one room," she said.

"So this will be such a great change to be able to use all the rooms. Space is important with all the baby stuff."

A few weeks ago she found out she was getting this house and could not believe it.

"It will be far better for the two kids. My mum will be able to visit more as will their other granny as they couldn't do the stairs," she said.

"I can't wait to get them out in the garden."

Since the mid-1990s, social housing in Northern Ireland had been built by housing associations.

In 2020, Stormont's then housing minister announced a change to the Housing Executive's remit so it could start building again.

While this change has yet to happen, the new development went ahead as a pilot.

It is the first social housing scheme by the Housing Executive in 25 years.

Lower bills for tenants

The state-of-the art energy efficient homes will also mean lower energy bills for tenants.

Housing Executive chief executive Grainne Long said it was a "really important moment" for social and public housing.

"It shows what the homes of the future can and should be," she said.

"A PassivHaus is an ultra-low energy home, you've got an air source heat pump, a ventilation system and an internal skin wrapped round the property, so that means these are the warmest homes but also really well-ventilated homes.

"That means healthier households, it means really low cost energy bills of about £4.50 a week."

She said it would get people off the waiting list, which has about about 47,000 people on it.

"The Housing Executive used to build between 5,000 and 9,000 homes a year - we haven't done that in a generation," she said.

"We need to get back now to where we are adding to supply, alongside housing associations and I think there is political consensus around that."

More money needed

Minister for Communities Gordon Lyons said the scheme showed why changes were needed to allow the Housing Executive to borrow more money.

"We need to see more of this, it's very difficult for the Housing Executive to do under the current borrowing rules," he said.

"One of my key priorities is to make sure we make the changes necessary to allow the Housing Executive to borrow against its assets so that these homes here will only be the start of a much longer term programme of new builds."

Gordon Lyons has said more funding has been made available.

It comes after a 70% cut to the budget for new social homes in the current budget.

The minister said more funding had since been made available, but that funding was only part of the solution.

He will shortly be bringing a Housing Supply Strategy to the executive.