Mayo town facing up to its dereliction plight
THE bustling south Mayo town of Ballinrobe has a high number of derelict buildings in prominent locations that need urgent action.
In recent weeks there has been progress in dealing with dereliction in the town with work commencing on a new housing unit situated on the Castlebar Road.
Local Fine Gael Councillor Michael Burke said that there is a plan for the town to deal with the current plight of derelict buildings.
“We have done the CPOs (compulsory purchase orders) over the last two years on I think three different buildings. They are now at the stage where plans have been completed and the contractor is appointed.
“They have actually started work on one of the sites at Castlebar Road, and probably in early 2027 we will have another 13 or 14 units completed, those being the ones at Main Street, Glebe Street, Convent Road, Creagh Road and of course the Castlebar Road – with five houses being built on the Castlebar Road. So, it will make a big impact on the situation where we had a lot of dereliction. We have four of those sites taken out and work has begun.”
Councillor Burke agrees that there is still a lot of work to be done with regards to dereliction.
“There is a derelict building in Cornmarket beside Supermacs and planning permission has been granted for that project. Also in Cornmarket, where Rabbits Bar used to be.
"I understand work will be starting on that site in the not-too-distant future. I understand that it is a housing agency which has that building, however, I am not overly familiar with that project. That area also includes where the old ESB offices used to be.
“I suppose on a more negative side, there are still a few sites around the town that we are trying to deal with. Some of them have gone to sale agreed and work will probably commence on three of those sites over the next six to eight months, those being on the Convent Road.
“We will be creating houses for people that want to live in Ballinrobe and it is really hard to get a house in the town. I also hope that the balance of the building work will come from the private sector.
“We are also planning works on a derelict building on Main Street and work will commence on that too, along with the other projects around the town, in the next number of weeks rather than months. Whilst we have some work done, it is a very slow process.
"If people don’t keep their buildings repaired, then we could see one or two more buildings being added as derelict.”
In Carlow, the county council have decided to redevelop the Barrack Street area of the town to address the dereliction and that project is currently underway.
Councillor Burke would like to see Mayo County Council take a similar approach to Ballinrobe.
“I would love to see the council actually taking on one street, perhaps Bridge Street for example, and that is a place where we could do a lot of work, but it would take a lot of money.
"However, other counties have been very proactive at this, and I think Carlow County Council actually redeveloped a whole street. I understand some of those new houses or apartments could be sold and some of them could become social housing.
“Mayo County Council is doing a lot of good work and Mayo is one of the counties, believe it or not, that is getting its targets.”
There are also plans to build new houses on The Neale Road as you enter the town (Flannery’s Field, situated behind Flannery’s Bar and Restaurant).
“In the private sector, planning permission will be lodged for 20 units on The Neale Road and they will probably be built within the next 18 months.”
Councillor Burke believes people will see big changes in Ballinrobe with regards to dereliction in the next two years.
“There's a lot of positive things, but we always look at the negatives. We have to deal with what's wrong in the town. When a job is done, it's done, you move on to the next item on the agenda and I suppose dereliction is going to be an ongoing issue.
“Kenny's old building on Bridge Street was in very poor condition and in fairness great work has been done on that.
"It's a protected structure and it's not easy to work on, but in fairness to Pat Duffy and his family, they have done a great job in actually protecting it and it is now becoming a beautiful building.
“I can definitely say that over the next two years you will see a big change in the face of Ballinrobe regarding the amount of dereliction that will have been tidied up, thereby creating the town centre attitude.”
Fianna Fáil Councillor Damien Ryan is pleased with the fact that work has already begun on a site on the Castlebar Road.
“We have commenced the construction of 14 units in Ballinrobe and that involved the acquisition of four different sites, located on the Castlebar Road, the Creagh Road, Main Street, and on Glebe Street/Convent Road.
“We need to get back to acquisition and turnaround and it's not just about acquiring properties; it's about taking the properties and putting them back into use. There is a big push at national level to do that, and I think that we need to make a firm statement in this town.”
Councillor Ryan also mentioned Carlow County Council’s recent venture to address dereliction in Carlow town, and he believes that Ballinrobe could copy that initiative.
“There's nothing to say that we couldn't do that or definitely develop a chunk of an area. I think that would have the corrective effect and that's something that I'd be advocating for.
“If it’s needed, I will facilitate a meeting between the director of services and the minister (James Browne) to give a commitment that if we move that they will be prepared to fund the plan and that would make a big difference in Ballinrobe.”