Condition of publicly owned properties letting Mayo county town down
THE Health Service Executive (HSE) has been taken to task over the appearance of a property it owns in Castlebar - Hill House.
Mayo County Council also drew the ire of Councillor Ger Deere for not dealing with its own derelict buildings.
There was favourable commentary, though, about a paint job on Ellison Street in the town, at a municipal district meeting.
The former Ryan House has been the subject of a lovely paint job to camoflage it, yet 20 yards down the street there's buildings owned by the council that look 'despicable', said Councillor Deere.
To think that they are forcing individuals to do up their premises, and council owned properties are letting down the whole town, he commented.
Recently, TG4 were in Castlebar for the Gaeltacht town initiative launch and their preview showed Ellison Street - 'the worst street in the town'.
Councillor Deere also highlighted the former Hill House, owned by the HSE, which he said appears to be derelict.
He asked that they'd paint or powerwash it as it was letting down the whole town.
“We are the biggest culprits ourselves. Let's get our act together,” he stated.
A lot of people are talking about Hill House at Mountain View, Councillor Blackie Gavin agreed, describing it as 'a disgrace'.
He asked his colleague Councillor Michael Kilcoyne, who sits on the HSE West Forum, to put down a question about it. All it would take is a lick of paint, like Ryan's old house on Ellison Street.
Councillor Kilcoyne noted how the council has a section checking properties that are rented out to see that they're up to certain standards, yet the same organisation owns the most derelict buildings in the town. The chief executive should be bringing forward proposals to get these things done, with the department saying there's money available, he said.
Councillor Harry Barrett commented on what he described as the 'Taj Mahal' of dereliction on a three-acre site on the Newport Road, lying vacant, and it needs to get sorted.
They have no cost rental scheme, no affordable housing scheme going on, with working families and people who are retired struggling to pay their rent, and they have to move on derelict properties.
And dereliction didn't just relate to Castlebar, continued Councillor Barrett, citing Lahardane, where you face 'a massive derelict building' when you drive into the village. He had made three attempts to put it on the derelict sites register, he said, adding that dereliction is not being taken seriously.