There have been calls for a new group to be set up to monitor new social housing developments in Derry after concerns were raised about an estate in the city.
Concerns were raised over Knockena, a development comprising of 67 housing units on the Buncrana Road, at a meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Governance and Strategic Planning Committee which heard Apex housing was looking at the possibility of building a further 250 homes in the city.
Speaking at the meeting, Sinn Fein Cllr Kelly said there were ‘problems’ with the Knockena development, given that in some instances, buildings had ‘houses at the bottom, with two flats above them’.
“So you have a family living at the bottom, with the two flats above them,” he added.
Independent Cll Darren O’Reilly said there was a ‘lack of correspondence between housing associations and local representatives,’ particularly during the early phases of a development such as the construction period up to when families are moving in.
Cllr O’Reilly requested a ‘development committee’ be set up during the first year of a new development opening to ‘make sure that people are settling in’ and also address other issues such as repair and maintenance.
He added there were also concerns given that some of the ‘smaller housing associations’ had no representation in Derry.
His request is to be considered and brought back to a future meeting of the committee.
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