Tackling the problem of derelict properties in Nenagh
The town of Nenagh had some 240 vacant properties yet only 25 units available to buy or rent, according to a recent survey.
Tipperary Co Council figures published in the Irish Examiner on Monday indicate that there were 164 residential vacancies and 76 commercial vacancies in Nenagh. The article - ‘Ireland's Empty Towns: Even Tipp's flourishing towns are blighted by vacant properties’ - focussed on vacancy and dereliction in Nenagh, Clonmel, Carrick-on-Suir, and Tipperary Town. It noted that there were 741 vacant properties across the four towns. These were broken down into 346 commercial vacancies and 395 residential vacancies.
The focus on empty buildings in Nenagh has drawn surprise from some local representatives, while also prompting renewed calls for action on housing, especially in light of the new Housing for All strategy, which was launched by the Government last week.
Vacant Homes Officer with the council Tony O'Neill clarified that the vacancy figures were taken from a database, the information in which may not be up to date. In Nenagh, more than 70 units identified as vacant belonged to the one development, Drummin Village on the Borrisokane Road; Mr O'Neill pointed out that many of these units have been proactively worked on the in the last year or so; they have been sold, renovated or occupied.
“The situation is evolving all the time,” he said in relation to vacant properties in Nenagh. He also made the point that the council allows planning exemptions for commercial properties being converted to residential use, and he mentioned the Repair and Leasing and Buy and Renew schemes. Mr O'Neill encouraged people interested in making use of these schemes to contact the council.
Nenagh Chamber of Commerce spokesperson Denis Finnerty said the issue of empty or derelict buildings in the town centre is not as acute as in other towns. “It’s not something that I would have thought was a big problem in Nenagh,” he said.
“The council are trying to make contact with the people who own these places and trying to get them renovated or whatever. Dereliction is often a social issue - it’s lack of opportunity for business to open or lack of opportunity for people who own these premises to do anything with them, or people being stuck in poverty and don’t have the money to spend.”
Mr Finnerty did welcome the highlighting of the issue in that it may lead to new efforts to make a Nenagh a better town to live in, work in, and to visit.
“Nenagh has come through the tough times maybe a little better than comparable towns in Tipperary. That’s not to say there’s nothing that needs to be done; there’s lots that needs to be done,” he commented.
“But the town is in a good place and it’s on the cusp of getting even better. The business people of Nenagh have over the last 18 months made an absolutely huge effort to stay open, to stay providing the services that they could to the local community.”
LACK OF HOUSING
A daft.ie search indicated that there were only three properties available to rent in Nenagh, and a further 22 properties for sale. Local Sinn Féin representative Damian O Donoghue said it would come as a surprise if there even were three available to rent.
“They’re usually gone very quickly,” he said. “I’m told by people who’ve been in this area for decades that it’s definitely the worst it’s ever been in terms of access to housing. I think it comes from decades of under-investment in housing, which was a Government strategy.”
Mr O Donoghue made the comment that vacancy would not be a problem if there was enough housing for people in Nenagh. He said it galls local people waiting for housing to see so many empty properties around the town.
“Nenagh is not as bad as most of the towns in Tipperary but it is still an issue here, like it is everywhere. When you have 800 people in the Nenagh electoral area on the housing list, it is demoralising for them to see empty houses. Vacant units affect people buying privately as well.”
Mr O Donoghue said the same situation applies to Borrisokane, Cloughjordan, and other towns and villages in the district. He called on the Government to prioritise action on vacancy, which is an issue for central as opposed to local government.
“It’s an area that needs to be prioritised, because it wouldn’t fix the housing crisis but it would help,” he said.
STEREAME SITE
Meanwhile, Nenagh councillor Séamie Morris has renewed his call for the Land Development Agency to focus on the council-owned land at Stereame as a site for developing affordable housing and a cost rental scheme.
Cllr Morris wrote to the LDA again in the light of the new Housing for All plan. “Nenagh is flourishing at the moment and the only thing that can slow down the progress of the town is a complete lack of affordable housing for our young working families, who are being squeezed out of the housing market with fast increasing house prices,” he said.