Tipperary council purchases derelict former Goldcrop site along Carrick-on-Suir's North Quay

Tipperary County Council has purchased the derelict 2.7acres Goldcrop site along Carrick-on-Suir’s North Quay and plans to draw up a masterplan for the redevelopment of the property. 

The Goldcrop property, also known as the former Wicklow Gardens site, next to Dillon Bridge in Carrick-on-Suir is one of the town’s long-standing derelict sites. 

Tipperary County Council has purchased the property from the Cork-based Goldcrop company for around €500,000. It has been purchased under the Derelict Site’s Act by agreement with Goldcrop. 

The council secured €400,000 funding towards the site’s purchase from the Government’s Town & Village Renewal Scheme’s Buildings Acquisitions Measure, which is targeted at the purchase and redevelopment of vacant and derelict sites.

The council’s purchase of the property was announced at Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District’s December meeting last Thursday. 

Carrick MD Administrator Marie O’Gorman explained the council has advertised in The Nationalist a notice of intention to Compulsory Purchase a small section of the Goldcrop site, namely the stone grain store building adjacent to Dillon Bridge in order to perfect the title of this section of the 2.7 acres site.

According to the statutory notice published in last week’s edition of The Nationalist, any owner, lessee or occupier of the property, except where the tenant occupies it for a month or less, can submit a written objection to the CPO of the 0.43acres property on or before January 25, 2023.

Submissions should be addressed to Tipperary County Council’s Director of Services for Climate Action & Environmental Services at the council’s Civic Offices in Clonmel.

If any objection is made, the council won’t be able to compulsory purchase the property without the consent of An Bord Pleanála.

Carrick MD Director of Services Brian Beck said the purchase of the balance of the Goldcrop site was finalised and he received the keys to the property that day.

He explained the council issued the statutory notice in relation to the compulsory purchase the stone grain store on the Goldcrop site to ensure there were no subsequent queries about the title of the property in the event the local authority wanted to engage with any interested parties about developing the land.

Mr Beck stressed the council’s solicitor was generally happy with the title that was there but as a local authority they had a responsibility to make sure a title is never queried by another solicitor.

“It’s mostly a procedural issue rather than anything else,” he added. The council’s purchase of the site was welcomed by Carrick-on-Suir’s two councillors.

Carrick-on-Suir MD Cathaoirleach Cllr David Dunne said the Goldcrop site was derelict for a long number of years and noted that a lot of work will need to be done to clean up the site, which included buildings with asbestos.

He said he hoped the site will in the future become the focal point for the joining of the Suir Blueway with the Waterford Greenway. Fianna Fáil Cllr Kieran Bourke told the meeting he was delighted with the purchase of the property. It was fantastic news.

He thought the stone building next to the bridge would be a good place for a restaurant.

Ms O’Gorman told The Nationalist the council’s next steps will be to carry out remediation works to clean up the Goldcrop site where there are derelict structures and to draw up a planning masterplan for the redevelopment of the property for tourism, cultural, recreational, commercial and retail use