Two Tipperary housing estates waiting over 10 years to be taken in charge

Two housing estates in one Tipperary town are waiting over 10 years to be taken in charge by Tipperary County Council.

Both The Steeples and Windmill Close in Cashel have been approved to be taken in charge by the council, paving the way for the local authority to repair and maintain the estates going forward.

Taking in charge is the name given to when a local authority takes a housing estate into its care and is responsible for its maintenance.

Raising the issue of The Steeples, Fine Gael councillor Declan Burgess said that the residents of the estate have been waiting for the estate to be taken in charge since 2015.

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“The Steeples in Cashel is one of the long term applicants that have been approved and working with a new developer there, they’re trying to finish off the estate, but has there been any engagement with the planning section in relation to progressing an application for The Steeples in Cashel?

“The residents in that estate have an approved taking in charge application since March 2015, which is 10 years now waiting for their estate to be taken in charge which is incredibly long and frustrating,” Cllr Burgess said.

“There’s a lot of defects in the estate and a deep desire for the council to take it in charge, there’s a part of the estate that’s not developed, and that’s obviously a concern, there’s deep concern there,” Cllr Burgess said.

Independent councillor Liam Browne backed the call by Cllr Burgess and said that the Windmill Close estate in Cashel is also a long time waiting to be taken in charge.

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“On the taking in charge, Windmill Close has not been taken in charge, July 2014, that’s 11 years, does it really take that long to take an estate in charge?” Cllr Browne asked the meeting.

“There are other developments which are not finished and I’m not sure are they going to be finished because developers have disappeared, and people living in the developments are being left in limbo, so we’ll have to figure out how to do that properly,” Cllr Browne added.