Shopping list of issues in Tipperary's largest town brought to housing minister's attention

Several issues of concern in Clonmel were brought to the attention of Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, when he visited Clonmel recently on the invitation of Cllr Siobhán Ambrose.

With applications expected to open soon for the next round of the Urban Regeneration Development Fund (URDF), Clonmel will be applying to Minister O’ Brien’s department for between €70 to €100 million.

“If approved, this funding will allow the council to upgrade several of the streets around the centre of the town (with new public lighting, putting overhead wires underground, new footpaths and road re-surfacing)”, said Cllr Ambrose.

“Similar to the Guinness Storehouse tourist attraction in Dublin, it will allow for the construction of a Bulmers visitor centre in Dowd’s Lane. This funding will also enable the council to proceed to the next stage of planning for the provision of a bridge from the Quay over to Suir Island; and it would enable the council to redevelop the West Gate”.

Cllr Ambrose also brought the minister to see the various sites around Clonmel where Tipperary County Council are building more social housing through funding from the minister’s department.

“I informed him that Clonmel will also shortly be rolling out a new affordable housing scheme to support young people and also to support people whose marriages/relationships have broken down in getting back on the property ladder”.

Cllr Ambrose also raised the lack of private housing developments being built with the minister.

“There is a huge demand for private housing around Clonmel, but given the increase in materials, builders have turned towards local authority construction as a guaranteed finance option, as opposed to the private sector, which by the time a development is constructed the builder may not be able to recoup from the private sector the costs incurred and in turn a similar return on their investment.

“We have lots of young people looking to buy their first homes”.

Cllr Ambrose says she also brought the minister to show him the outside of the former Parke’s Chemist in Gladstone Street, which has been refurbished under his department’s funding schemes; and Market Place, to show him the possible potential for over-the-shop apartments in this area when it is refurbished by the private developer.

She also raised with him the ongoing, almost weekly water outages that are being experienced by residents, businesses and members of the farming community in the Clonmel area and asked for his support for both short term and long term solutions to address this issue.