A LOCAL Councillor has demanded that houses are built in Fermanagh as there is a ‘housing crisis’ and rural communities are going to suffer.
The Housing Executive has confirmed it has commenced the 2020/2021 Rural Housing Need Testing programme which will examine the need for social housing in three villages in Fermanagh – Donagh, Newtownbutler and Brookeborough.
It is currently assessing an encouraging initial response to the test undertaken in Donagh in September.
At a recent Council meeting, concerns were raised around the latent demand test for housing allocation, particularly when applied to those wishing to live in rural areas.
Cllr Donal O’Coffaigh believes more needs to be done and houses need to be built as the demand for houses in the county continues to increase.
Cllr O’Coffaigh said, “Latent demand testing is an inadequate mechanism to access true housing demand.
“People do not seek houses because they believe there is no chance of obtaining a house.
“It is a system that is failing our rural towns and villages, and we need to see the follow through. “We need to see houses being built.
“Recent data shows there was hardly any houses built in Fermanagh and Omagh in the last few years.
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