Every derelict property in Tipperary's largest town will be examined

The owners of another 22 derelict properties in Clonmel’s town centre have been contacted by Tipperary County Council with a view to bringing those properties back into use.

In addition, the council will be following up on every derelict site in the town centre in the coming months, Town Regeneration Officer Shane Grogan also told a meeting of Clonmel Borough District.

Mr Grogan said that the council’s aim “isn’t to prosecute, persecute or torment people”. It wants to assist people to bring properties back into use as quickly as possible.

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He said they would engage with the owner of any derelict property to go through the various options and the funding streams that are available.

However, at the same time it isn’t acceptable that a property would be left derelict for a long period of time, he said.

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Of the 22 property owners contacted so far, the council had received two responses.

Once they had been written to, the owners had four weeks to engage with the council.

If they didn’t, they were issued with another letter, informing them that the property had been placed on the derelict sites register. Once that happened, the owners were given two months grace to do something with the building.

If no action was taken, the derelict properties levy would apply, and this was subject to interest over time.

“Our aim is to help people and not to make money from this,” Mr Grogan said.

The third round of the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) focuses on addressing long-term vacancy and dereliction in towns and cities by providing a revolving fund for local authorities to acquire vacant or derelict properties.

Mr Grogan said there had been a 50 percent turnover rate across the county under this fund, and a lot of properties were moving on with financial assistance from the council.

There was a lot of movement in this regard, with properties being painted and brought back into use.

Cllr John FitzGerald said that the council’s offer to the owners of derelict properties was a real opportunity for people who were at a crossroads with an old building, which may have been a business premises or in their family’s ownership.

It was also an opportunity for people who were trapped in a poor market. A lot of properties weren’t in a fit state for letting and were just lying there. This was good news for the town centre, he stated.

Cllr Siobhán Ambrose said it is very important that the message would go out that derelict property owners should engage with the council once they received letters, because the council might be able to assist them.

She said the letters from the council would put “the fear of God” into some people.

There’s a story behind every derelict building, she said.

Cllr Tom Acheson welcomed the fact that more than 20 derelict properties in Clonmel had been identified.

The former pub in Davis Road, which had been tidied up and was now providing accommodation for people, was a perfect example of a building that could be transformed.

Under this scheme there could be quite a change to derelict buildings in the town, he added.

Cllr Richie Molloy said that dereliction spoils everything in the town centre.

The council’s initiative was intended to bring people in to discuss options rather than “hammer them”.

Despite having been painted by a local arts group, he said that Market Place was becoming shabby again.

Cllr Niall Dennehy said that this was a super initiative and he welcomed it.

The Mayor, Cllr Pat English, said it’s “a win-win situation”.