
As the need for new housing in Sligo intensifies to meet the current needs and grow the town into a city, the recommendation from Sligo County Council planners to approve 74 new homes is welcome news for the town. All eyes turn to county councillors who will be asked on July 4th to vote to bring these homes forward by allowing the lands to be released from Sligo’s Strategic Residential Land Reserve.
The proposed scheme on Cairns Road, is conveniently located close to all local amenities including transport links, shops, schools, and sports fields.
Designed by the Douglas Wallace Architects, the firm led by celebrity Architect, Hugh Wallace, the scheme achieved a swift recommendation for approval following a comprehensive pre-planning process with the Planning Department and an exemplary, all-encompassing planning application by the design team for local Sligo developer, Novot Holdings.
The mix of homes available ranging from one-, two-, and much sought after three and four-bedroom homes offer young individuals, couples, families and down-sizers the rare opportunity to purchase a carefully designed A-rated new home in close proximity to Sligo town centre. This blend of such a wide demographic profile will help create a mixed neighbourhood with all the ingredients needed for a balanced and sustainable community and offers a contemporary design solution, taking into account the challenges facing society today.

“This,” according to Home of the Year judge, Hugh Wallace, “is a scheme that we have carefully and respectfully designed with the homeowner in mind. We have,” Wallace explains, “created light filled, perfectly proportioned and well laid out homes that satisfy the demands of modern living.”
The cleverly designed scheme is built around a central green area with a treelined avenue that creates a focal point at the heart the scheme. Pockets of informal gathering, a new children’s playground and amenity spaces dotted throughout the development as well as the different design styles of the individual homes, helps to shape a distinctive and unique feel to the entire development.
Catering to a modern, environmentally conscious society, the proximity to local public transport routes as well as the town centre itself has enabled a prioritisation of the streets for walkers and cyclists, with private cars taking a back seat.
Attesting to its success, Wallace explains, “We listened to and understood the needs of not only our client, but of the wider community as a whole. The result is a conscientiously crafted solution that, we hope, will be an exemplar of good design for future residential schemes of scale not just in Sligo but across the entire country.”