by Alan Jacques
THE historic Toll Cottages, overlooking the River Shannon at Verdant Place off Thomond Bridge, are among 21 derelict properties that Limerick City and County Council is planning to acquire through Compulsory Purchase Orders.
The local authority has this week published notification of its intention to compulsorily acquire the properties located across Limerick city and county using its powers under the Derelict Sites Act 1990.
The acquisitions are part of a coordinated approach by the Council to deal with dereliction and vacancy across the city, towns and villages in County Limerick that has seen the Council compulsorily acquire more than 100 derelict sites in the past two years.
Among the other properties being proposed for CPO in this tranche of acquisitions are properties in Lower Mallow Street, Lower Hartstonge Street andLaurel Hill Avenue in the city as well as St Mary’s Terrace in Cappamore.
Limerick City and County Council has started the CPO process on more than 160 properties and many of the properties that have CPOs already completed have been sold or are up for sale to interested parties, enabling them to be brought back into use.
“Tackling dereliction is a priority for government, it’s a priority for the elected members of Limerick City and County Council and the communities they represent,” said Council Director of Service Gordon Daly.
“The Council is fully committed to seeing through a comprehensive action plan to deal with this issue. The 21 notices issued this week will go some way to addressing the issue and there are further CPO notices to be issued in the coming weeks,” he added.
“Our message to owners of derelict properties is very simple: Limerick City and County Council will use the full range of statutory powers available to it including the imposition of levies and compulsory acquisition if owners do not address the dereliction.”
The Council is now conducting more than 100 derelict property inspections a month and there has been a five-fold increase in the number of properties on the derelict sites register in Limerick since 2018.
It is also using its powers under derelict sites legislation to levy derelict properties annually at seven per cent of their market value.
