Tax breaks needed to encourage a return to town centre living in Tipperary

Tax incentives were needed to encourage business owners to convert the overhead spaces in town centre buildings into residential units, a local politician has stated.
Cllr John Fitzgerald told a meeting of Clonmel Borough District that people wouldn’t accept one-off grants to buy into the scheme.
“You’re asking them to renovate their property and change their business model. This hasn’t a future without tax relief,” he stated.
Cllr Fitzgerald said he was disappointed that Clonmel didn’t qualify for the initial Town Centres First programme, which was intended for towns with a population of less than 10,000.
He said that the dereliction of town centres, and in this case Clonmel, was a serious issue.
Cllr Fitzgerald understood that another programme to tackle this problem would be announced early in the New Year.
At a previous meeting he said that these schemes weren’t a silver bullet for the housing shortage but were something they needed to look at, because they needed “to wage war on dereliction.
“Dereliction erodes the community and the environment,” he said, adding that in some buildings the overhead spaces were “full of dead birds and Christmas decorations.”
Cllr Pat English said it was essential that the dereliction of town centres would be tackled.
They should write to the Department and see if any tax incentives were available to help people return to living in the town centre.
If money was coming on stream the council should be ready and willing to check how many derelict buildings were in the town centre, he added.

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