Construction BUSINESS

Sisk Living, the housing division of construction company John Sisk & Son, has formally handed over a development of 90 homes at Sheehy Skeffington Meadows in Tallaght to the client South Dublin County Council. The new homes, which will be used for social housing, were built as part of a design and build contract worth c€16 million and were completed by Sisk Living in less than 37 weeks.

The site, which benefits from its close proximity to Cheeverstown Luas stop, includes a total of 13 unit types, ranging in size from three-bed terrace units to four-bed detached units which are constructed to a BER A2 energy rating and feature efficient heating, ventilation, solar power generation and window technology as well as high levels of insulation and draft proofing.

Commenting on scheme, Stephen Bowcott, CEO of John Sisk & Son, said: “The team at Sisk Living is delighted to have completed its work on Sheehy Skeffington Meadows in Tallaght, one of the largest social housing schemes built in Ireland in recent years. We worked closely with South Dublin County Council and our supply chain partners to deliver these energy-efficient, easy to run and maintain homes for social housing ahead of schedule. The quality of these houses and speed at which they were built demonstrate Sisk Living’s capabilities in this space and we look forward to delivering further homes like these in the future.This project proves that builders on a design, build and where necessary finance basis can deliver homes at a far lower cost than developers who seek enhanced margins for the enhanced risk of speculatively purchasing land up front and building on it. Thus builders as opposed to developers will deliver homes on state owned land achieving savings of over €100k per unit when compared to the price of purchasing similar units on the open market in areas such as this. The savings the Local Authorities achieve on developments of this nature as a result are considerable.”

Recognising the urgent need for these houses for South Dublin County Council and in the context of the current chronic need for housing in Tallaght, Sisk Living implemented an aggressive construction programme for this development by utilising off-site fabrication, the selection of quality sub-contractors with the right resources and importantly, the correct sequencing of the works which included a rising wall system which can be built quicker than blockwork and irrespective of poor weather conditions.

CAPTION:

Pictured at the event to mark the handover were (left to right): Patrick de Roe, Senior Architect, South Dublin CC; Stephen Bowcott, CEO John Sisk & Son; and Norman Higgins, Director of Housing, Sisk Living.