Coulter Close – an age-friendly development in Dundalk

Description

Coulter Close, delivered by Tuath Housing Association in collaboration with Louth County Council, Inclusion Louth, Saint John of God’s Community Services, and the HSE, has delivered a transformative residential development that prioritises dignity, independence, and community inclusion for older people and individuals with disabilities. This purpose-built scheme was initiated in 2016 following the award of the construction contract to CJ Callan Construction Ltd. In 2023, Coulter Close was completed as the product of years of planning, stakeholder engagement, and design excellence.

The development comprises a single-storey, terraced arrangement of seven residential units on a 0.366-hectare site in County Louth. It includes one 4-bedroom Assisted Living Unit and six 2-bedroom homes, one of which is fully wheelchair accessible, creating a density equivalent to 23 units per hectare. This design aligns with Louth County Development Plan objectives for edge-of-centre residential density and sustainable land use.

The centrepiece of the scheme is the 260 sqm 4-bedroom Assisted Living Unit, designed in close consultation with Inclusion Louth and tailored to meet the specific needs of residents with intellectual disabilities. It features significantly enlarged circulation, living, and sleeping spaces per Occupational Therapist guidelines. Saint John of God’s Community Services (North East) will provide on-site care services through a formal Service Level Agreement and funding from the HSE, ensuring residents receive consistent, individualised support.

The remaining six 2-bedroom homes are allocated to individuals on Louth County Council’s housing waiting list. All units are single storey, with direct, level access to gardens and communal areas, enhancing accessibility and supporting residents’ independence. The layout fosters passive surveillance and community interaction, with kitchen windows overlooking shared landscaped spaces.

A thoughtfully designed communal area and shared access path encourage active use and create a natural buffer between homes and car parking, maintaining both privacy and a vibrant streetscape. The development’s architecture and landscaping reflect best practice in age-friendly and inclusive design, promoting social cohesion and a sense of place.

This project exemplifies successful collaboration across housing, health, and community sectors. With CAS funding from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, care support from Saint John of God North East Services and the HSE, and land provision from Louth County Council, the scheme demonstrates an integrated, sustainable approach to supported and inclusive housing.

This development not only addresses the immediate needs of individuals requiring assisted living and age-friendly homes but also serves as a replicable model for future residential schemes seeking to combine accessibility, care, and community within a cohesive urban framework.

Aim of Initiative

The aim of this initiative is to provide high-quality, purpose-built, long-term housing that meets the diverse needs of individuals with disabilities and older people. It seeks to promote independence, inclusion, and community integration by delivering accessible, age-friendly homes in a supportive and thoughtfully designed environment.

Developed by Tuath Housing Association in partnership with Louth County Council and Inclusion Louth, the project addresses both the shortage of appropriate housing for people with disabilities and the increasing demand for age-appropriate homes among older residents. The initiative’s core goal is to enable residents to live with dignity, choice, and autonomy while receiving any necessary care and support in a familiar, community-based setting.

The 4-bedroom Assisted Living Unit was created to offer tailored accommodation for individuals with intellectual disabilities, developed with direct input from Inclusion Louth and Occupational Therapists. This ensures that the layout, accessibility, and functionality of the home truly reflect residents’ needs. The six additional 2-bedroom units, including one fully accessible home, provide safe, adaptable housing for elderly individuals and others with mobility challenges.

By integrating assisted living and general needs housing in a single, inclusive development, the initiative also fosters intergenerational community living and combats isolation. Supported by the HSE, Department of Housing, and Louth County Council, the project represents a replicable model for how health, housing, and local government sectors can collaborate to meet the long-term housing needs of vulnerable populations.

Who is it aimed at

Coulter Close addresses the housing needs of both older persons and individuals with intellectual or physical disabilities, offering a sustainable and dignified living environment.

Funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage Capital Assistance Scheme, Coulter Close was delivered for housing priority groups such as older persons and people with disabilities. The idea for the scheme originated in a long-standing vision of Inclusion Louth, who identified a pressing need for supported, community-based housing in the area.

3 Steps critical to success

1. Partnership

   The origins of the scheme lie in a long-standing vision of Inclusion Louth (formerly Dundalk Parents & Friends of the Intellectually Disabled), who identified a pressing need for supported, community-based housing in the area. In 2016, they partnered with Tuath Housing and Louth County Council to bring this vision to life. The Approved Housing Body and local authority have a longstanding and robust partnership, having delivered over 700 homes together in the county to date. The collaboration was further strengthened through support from the Health Service Executive (HSE) and St. John of God Community Services, culminating in a robust, person-centred housing solution nearly a decade in the making.

   Such robust and positive working relationships between all partners were crucial to the success of delivering this direct-build project and delivering this independent and assisted living scheme, meeting local housing, community and care needs.

2. Design

   Coulter Close demonstrates how inclusive, accessible design can be seamlessly integrated into high-quality housing for people with support needs. The scheme comprises one four-bedroom assisted living unit and six two-bedroom homes within a single-storey layout. Designed by O’Brien Finucane Architects in close consultation with occupational therapists and stakeholder organisations such as Inclusion Louth, each unit supports independent living while enabling access to on-site or nearby care services. All units are single storey, ensuring full accessibility and fostering independent living.

   The assisted living unit is fully wheelchair accessible and purpose-built to accommodate four individuals with intellectual disabilities. It incorporates enhanced spatial layouts, robust and adaptable features, and private bedrooms with shared communal areas to foster both autonomy and connection. The six two-bedroom homes, including one fully accessible unit, are intended for older persons and people with disabilities, offering generous living spaces, level thresholds, direct access to gardens, and strong links to the communal landscaped area.

   Sustainability and longevity were central to the design. All homes are built to modern building standards using durable, low-maintenance materials. The scheme’s compact form, orientation, and efficient use of a greenfield site reflect a commitment to sustainability and long-term functionality. The single-storey design inherently supports lifetime adaptability, with layouts suitable for changing mobility needs over time.

   Coulter Close provides a replicable, small-scale model for independent and assisted living that is both place-specific and scalable. The success of this scheme, developed through a collaborative process between all partners, demonstrates that supported housing can be dignified, welcoming, and deeply embedded in the community fabric.

3. Community
   Coulter Close was designed and delivered with the objective of building a strong and sustainable community at its core. From the outset, the project aimed to go beyond the provision of housing to create a genuine community, one that fosters connection, inclusion, and a strong sense of belonging among older persons and individuals with disabilities.

   The scheme includes no formal indoor communal facilities but is strongly oriented toward outdoor shared space that encourages neighbourly connection and inclusivity.

   The layout and design of the scheme support both privacy and neighbourly interaction. All homes are at ground level with direct access to gardens and a thoughtfully landscaped shared space, encouraging passive surveillance and spontaneous social contact. While the scheme does not feature internal communal areas, the external environment plays a crucial role in community-building, offering safe, accessible spaces for residents to meet, engage, and support one another.

   While Coulter Close does not include indoor communal facilities, its emphasis on outdoor shared space promotes placemaking, informal interaction and passive surveillance; all of which support both safety and social connection. The layout balances privacy and neighbourliness, helping to build a strong sense of community.

3 Challenges in Planning / Delivery

1. Coordinating multi-agency collaboration

   Aligning the objectives and input of multiple stakeholders—including Tuath Housing, Louth County Council, Inclusion Louth, the HSE, and Saint John of God Services—over a multi-year period required extensive partnership-building and sustained engagement. The strong and robust working relationships between all partners, built both through working together at Coulter Close and prior to the project’s commencement, helped to ensure smooth workflows and the delivery of these seven homes to the local community.

2. Delivering tailored, accessible, design

   Designing a fully wheelchair-accessible Assisted Living Unit and six age-friendly homes to high architectural and occupational therapy standards posed significant design, spatial, and functional challenges. Robust working relationships across all agency partners involved in the delivery of this project helped to ensure the homes were delivered to this excellent standard while securing longevity and independence for Coulter Close’s new residents.

3. Embedding Coulter Close within the existing community

   Integrating Coulter Close into the established Coulter Park development and local area required early and ongoing engagement with residents. Tuath Housing, managing over 15,000 homes for some 37,000 residents nationwide, has extensive experience in this area. This experience alongside sustained local engagement helped to ensure the development responded to community concerns, reflected local identity, and fostered genuine inclusion from the outset.

3 Outcomes / Benefits

1. Partnership

   Through the partners’ robust working relationships, built both throughout and before the project at Coulter Close commenced, the stakeholders collaborated to deliver a seven-home independent and assisted living scheme with community and independence at its core.

   The involvement of stakeholders like Inclusion Louth, St. John of God Services, and the HSE ensures continuity of care, connection to services, and a responsive support environment.

2. Design
   Coulter Close was designed and delivered with the wellbeing, dignity and independence of its residents at its core. From the outset, the project aimed to go beyond the provision of housing to create a genuine community, one that fosters connection, inclusion, and a strong sense of belonging among older persons and individuals with disabilities.

   The layout and design of the scheme support both privacy and neighbourly interaction. All homes are at ground level with direct access to gardens and a thoughtfully landscaped shared space, encouraging passive surveillance and spontaneous social contact. While the scheme does not feature internal communal areas, the external environment plays a crucial role in community-building, offering safe, accessible spaces for residents to meet, engage, and support one another.

   While Coulter Close does not include indoor communal facilities, its emphasis on outdoor shared space promotes placemaking, informal interaction and passive surveillance; all of which support both safety and social connection. The layout balances privacy and neighbourliness, helping to build a strong sense of community.

   A resident, recovering from a stroke, has shown remarkable progress since moving in, a testament to the supportive atmosphere and sense of community nurtured within the scheme.

3. Community
   Through community at the core of its design, Coulter Close continues the mission of Tuath Housing to develop strong and sustainable communities.

   A resident who moved in in December 2024 described her experience as “the best Christmas present I ever got,” adding that “it actually gave me a new lease on life.”

   From its collaborative inception to daily life on-site, Coulter Close reflects the power of community-led housing to restore dignity, build resilience, and improve the overall quality of life for people with specific support needs.