‘More ambition’ needed to tackle dereliction in this town in Tipperary

Tipperary County Council needs to be more ambitious in 2026 to deal with the number of derelict buildings and houses in Clonmel.

That was the view expressed by Cllr Tom Acheson at a meeting of Clonmel Borough District.

He thought that more staff might be needed to tackle the problem.

Cllr Acheson said it was great to see a number of social houses being built in Thomas Street and at Crann Ard, with 116 houses coming on line.

The Mayor, Cllr Pat English, also welcomed the 61 houses being provided in Thomas Street and the other 55 houses being built by Cluid Housing in Crann Ard.

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He asked when they would be completed and ready for occupation.

He asked if there was any update on the URDF (Urban Regeneration and Development Fund) third funding round to tackle dereliction in Clonmel.

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The town seemed to be lagging behind other districts when they looked at the figures for Thurles, Nenagh and Tipperary.

Cllr Siobhán Ambrose said that with the number of houses being built in Thomas Street and Crann Ard, as well as the houses being provided at Prior Park Road, some 198 applicants would be removed from the housing list of 561 applicants.

The housing list was being brought down all the time, although she acknowledged that more names would be added to the list.
She said that 2026 would be very positive for the town.

As a local authority they were doing very well and at county level they had surpassed the targets set by the Department of Housing.

“We’re punching above our weight,” said Cllr Ambrose.

She said they had a lot of protected structures across the county and the funding that was available in grants needed to reflect that.

Cllr Niall Dennehy said it seemed that a lot of houses were being built in Clonmel, private or otherwise.
He noticed that a lot of towns had been named but Clonmel wasn’t mentioned when grants that were available for over-the-shop development were discussed in the previous few days.

Shaun Lonergan, Tipperary County Council, said the construction of the houses in Thomas Street was progressing very well and it was hoped they could be delivered in the third or fourth quarter of next year.

55 social houses were being built in Crann Ard. The rest of the houses in that scheme were private and affordable and were due to be completed in 2027, although that date might be brought forward.

Town Regeneration Officer Shane Grogan said that the details for the vacant refurbishment, or over-the-shop grant had yet to be finalised. Grants of up to €145,000 were available for vacant properties in town centres, with an additional €5,000 available for jobs like special surveying or other engineering and architectural works.

He said that Clonmel isn’t currently included on the Living City Initiative, a tax incentive that encourages people to live in historic inner-city areas, and which was referred to by Cllr Dennehy. However they had lobbied for Clonmel to be included and they were hopeful that it would be.

Mr Grogan said they were working on a plan for 2026 to identify and include more sites on the derelict sites register. The council contacted the owners of those properties and asked about their plans to bring the properties back into use.

The number on the register had increased from 80 to 115 and 19 properties had been removed following positive engagement with the owners.

60 percent of properties were on the way to being brought back into use, while more properties would be added to the list.
Revenue was about to take over the collection of the Derelict Sites levy, and was probably better suited to its collection than the council.

Currently, any derelict sites levy collected by the council was put back into housing but it had yet to be determined what would happen when Revenue took over the collection, Mr Grogan added.