Council contacts owners of 10 derelict properties

IN compliance with the Derelict Sites Act, Cork County Council has contacted the owners of 10 derelict properties in West Cork.

Jacqueline Mansfield, the West Cork municipal district officer, confirmed that the local authority was engaged in correspondence with three property owners in Clonakilty, three in Skibbereen, two in Dunmanway, and two in Castletownbere.

Some progress has been made, she said. One property has been repainted and repaired and is no longer considered potentially derelict.

Another owner is liaising with the local authority regarding the inclusion of the building in the Council’s repair and lease scheme.

One of the 10 properties is for sale, while another owner carried out some minor works after consultation, but further work is needed.

Under the Derelict Sites Act 1990, local authorities are responsible for dealing with derelict sites in their area. They can use certain powers to enforce the clean-up of these sites, such as prosecuting owners who do not comply with notices served.

The Council is also permitted to make compulsory land purchases. It can even carry out necessary work themselves and charge the owners for the cost.

The Act defines a derelict site as any land that ‘detracts, or is likely to detract, to a material degree from the amenity, character, or appearance of land in the neighbourhood of the land in question because of structures which are in a ruinous, derelict, or dangerous condition, or neglected, unsightly, or objectionable condition of the land or of structures on it.’

All local authorities are now obliged to have a derelict sites register that is available for public inspection. When the issue was raised at a meeting of the West Cork Municipal District, Cllr Joe Carroll (FF) questioned the number of properties listed. ‘There’s way more than three in Skibbereen and two in Dunmanway,’ the councillor said. 

But Jacqueline Mansfield told him a more detailed inspection will be carried out in the coming weeks. 

Meanwhile, Labour’s representative for the Skibbereen LEA, Evie Nevin described as ‘unacceptable’ the lack of a full list of the derelict properties in West Cork, which ‘hinders our ability to address the housing crisis effectively.’ 

‘I’ve been told that the reason there is no public list because of GDPR issues, but other municipal districts have this information for their areas,’ she said. 

Labour’s tackle vacancy campaign is an opportunity for a community-led effort to identify unused properties and bring them to the attention of the Council,’ she said. ‘By identifying and repurposing vacant properties, we can provide tangible solutions to those experiencing homelessness and contribute to the broader efforts to tackle the housing crisis,’ she added.