A TD has hit out at plans by Tipperary County Council to demolish 52 houses.
It has emerged that the council is going ahead with plans to demolish the 52 houses, which are incomplete.
Last week, Tipperary County Council issued a tender for the demolition of the houses, located at Ballypadeen, near Cashel. They were initially planned to be used for tourist accommodation at the site which is known locally as the old Cashel Kings Motel site, and a broader project included plans for a hotel at the site.
However, the hotel was not built, and works on the houses stopped almost 20 years ago, back in 2007, owing to a dispute between the developer and then-South Tipperary County Council.
It is understood that a settlement was reached with the developer last July, which saw the council agree to fund demolition works and take over the site for the works before handing it back over when complete.
Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath has voiced strong objection, telling Gript that there is potential to use the houses at a time when thousands of people across the county are waiting for houses. He has urged locals to make submissions on the proposal before a Council deadline of today, 3 February.
“The houses are set to be demolished via a Part 8 planning application. The Council have called the proposed works ‘Site Remediation Works’, even though there will be no remediation works carried out on site,” said Mr McGrath.
He added that the homes had been built with full planning permission and that despite their age, remain in surprisingly sound condition. The TD says that a Quantity Surveyor’s report estimates that demolishing the structures and full remediation of the site will cost somewhere in the region of €8 million.
“The houses will be simply demolished and the site will be left vacant with all of the protruding foundation pads. These units were built with full planning permission and are confirmed to be structurally compliant. This will prove to be an enormous cost to the taxpayer as well as significant, long-term environmental impacts, including massive waste generation and high carbon emissions.
“This appears fundamentally at odds with stated government policy on addressing the housing crisis and increasing housing supply,” he said, adding it is a “national issue that affects everyone.”
“In the middle of a national housing crisis, and at a time when 3,500 people in Tipperary are waiting for housing, this is incredible to me. It beggars belief that viable housing stock would be knocked down rather than refurbished and used for social and affordable housing. This raises big questions about the logic of pursuing demolition over completion.”
The local TD says he has no details from Tipperary County Council on what the exact costs will be to the taxpayer, however he told Gript that he has sought full details under freedom of information regarding the full cost associated wit the site and the demolition of the houses.
“I have not been granted access to the information, and I believe the full costs associated with this should be published and considered as part of the public consultation.”
‘THIS WILL COST THE TAXPAYER MILLIONS’
Deputy McGrath attended a protest along with members of the public on Saturday at the entrance to the site at Ballypadeen. He thanked people for turning up at the protest, sharing images of those who attended holding placards which read: “I thought we were in a housing crisis?” and “this will cost the taxpayer millions.” Another sign posed the question: “Planning approved…why demolish these houses?”
Tipperary County Council Director of Service Brian Beck told RTÉ News that some of the houses are now derelict, adding that they had been intended to be used for tourist accommodation and not as permanent residences.
He said that the site is “unzoned, unserviced, and located outside the settlement boundary of Cashel”, and that using it for permanent accommodation would be “considered contrary to the national, regional, and local planning policy.”
Mr Beck also said that the cost of updating the units to modern requirements would “be prohibitive and likely necessitate demolition” as they have been vacant and incomplete for so long.