Green light given for over 100 new homes on Carlow border

More new houses are in the pipeline on the Carlow border with Laois with two construction projects which are likely to ease the pressure for demand for homes in Carlow town.

Laois County Council recently gave the go-ahead to two developers for housing projects in Graiguecullen, which borders Carlow town. One of the projects has its roots in the Celtic Tiger while the second rounds up a development that began after the Covid-19 pandemic.

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The larger application sees David Walsh Homes Ltd getting the green light for nearly 100 units at Meadows Fort, Crossneen. The applicant applied in April 2025 to build 98 two-storey semi-detached dwellings. Less than four months later, the council granted permission.

The council has approved eight 4-bed dwellings, 82 3-bed houses and eight 2-bed homes. Provision of new internal roadways and footpaths by extension of the existing residential access road from Meadows Way, with associated works to facilitate vehicular, pedestrian and cycle access and car parking is also included in the application.

The grant of permission has gone through nearly two decades since Jackie Greene Construction was given the go-ahead for 199 homes in a related project on the Crosneen site. The same company was granted an extension of permission in 2012. 

David Walsh Homes was given the green light for a sewerage pumping station in the adjacent Meadows Way in 2023.

The second project also sees the completion of a project that was first applied for in 2023. Whitehorse Developments, trading as Capital Homes, has received conditional permission to complete phase three of a 131-unit development. 

The builders applied in December 2024 to complete phase 3 of the project off the Leighlin Road, Crossneen. They told Laois County Council that the project would consist of 17 dwellings.

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This includes:

• two four-bedroom two-storey semi-detached dwellings,
• six four-bedroom two-storey semi-detached dwellings,
• one block containing two two-bedroom two-storey townhouses plus two two-bedroom own-door access apartments,
• one two-storey four-bedroom detached dwelling,
• four three-bedroom two-storey townhouses,

During the planning process for Uisce Éireann noted in a submission "known capacity constraints in the area" on wastewater treatment.

In 2024, Laois and Carlow County Councils adopted a Carlow-Graiguecullen Joint Urban Local Area Plan that runs to 2030. It states that, excluding the five cities, Carlow-Graiguecullen now represents the seventh largest town in the country.

Graiguecullen's Laois population grew to 5,323 between 2016 and 2022. A further 1,665 people live in a part of Graiguecullen managed by Carlow County Council. 

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Laois County Development Plan 2021-2027 identifies a projected population growth for Graiguecullen by 2027 of 700 people, and an associated housing allocation of 280 units. This figure of 280 units represents 7% of the projected housing target for Laois to Graiguecullen. 

Graigue-based Sinn Féin representative Aaron Kelly highlighted a shortage of social housing in the town in 2025 when he said thea significant rise in population is exerting pressure on existing social housing resources.

Carlow-Graiguecullen is a designated Key Town Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy for the Southern Region. Laois County Council fed into a joint plan for Carlow and Graigue in 2024. The adopted plan will apply to 2030.