Psst, Wanna Peek Inside Those New La Touche Place Apartments…?

They might just be the finest apartments in the centre of Greystones, ever.

And the beautiful thing is, these new La Touche Place homes are all social housing. Bejiggers.

Yep, when you first step through the automated gates of this brand, spanking new housing complex – centred within stone’s throw of The Happy Pear and La Touche Wines, no less –  and into that inviting red brick square surrounded on two triangular sides by swanky two-storey apartments, the first thing that strikes you is, bejiggers, did a wealthy drug baron design all this?

Right in the heart of town, but private, sealed-up and safe, and only two minutes run to a passing train, sure, this might just be the finest hideaway complex east of Skellig Rock.

And as for the electric gates, we’ve yet to determine whether they’re there to keep people out, or to keep people in.

Either way, GG was lucky enough to be invited in by one of its happy residents, the lovely Marie, to find out a little bit more about this little slice of heaven…

This just in. Got the facts and figures, thanks to a lovely lady at the hardworking Housing Section of Wicklow County Council. There are 7 units of social housing here, and the name is not The Pablo Buerno Mansions but La Touche Court. The story began with St Patrick’s Housing Trust applying for planning permission to demolish the old Thrift Shop (anyone got a pic of that place?) to build 7 units of housing for the elderly, as well as a commercial unit on site. The site was then bought by a developer who completed the project with the assistance of NAMA.
The units are now leased to Tuath Housing Association and allocated to seven applicants from Wicklow County Council’s waiting list, whilst still being managed and maintained by Tuath. This is done with funding from the Department of Housing and Planning, and administered through Wicklow County Council.
Got so say, beautiful job all round here. Let’s hope we see many more social housing set-ups like this – practical, beautiful, sensible, and a perfect fit.