Develop derelict sites for homes

DERELICT sites in towns should be bought up by the council and developed as homes.

Councillor Richard Finn has requested sites in Claremorris be the subject of CPO (compulsory purchase order). He has been told 36 derelict sites have been identified.

CPO, he said, meant site owners would get a proper price and the council could then provide accommodation and bring people back into the town.

Councillor Damien Ryan said the motion related to every town and he suggested they should not approve any more part 8 planning applications for greenfield sites for the next 12 months until dereliction is dealt with.

Councillor John Caulfield said there was no reason why properties couldn't be brought back to being habitable again.

Highlighting how much money Irish people had saved during the Covid crisis, Councillor Michael Smyth said the challenge was to get people to spend. They had to be incentivised to develop properties by way of tax incentives, targeting town centres with the construction of town houses.

Head of the municipal district, Padraig Flanagan, said it would be a win for towns – removing derelict sites, providing housing, and bringing life back into town centres and villages.

An emphasis had been placed on derelict sites in the past year, with six in Kilmaine and three in Charlestown delivered for housing, and there were another 12 on the way.