16 out of 102 derelict sites owned by Cork City Council
Several of the buildings on Cork City Council’s derelict sites list are owned by the council itself, the Cork Independent has learned.
Figures obtained by the newspaper showed that there was 102 sites on the list, with 16 owned by the local authority.
City Hall, however, has plans in place for social housing at ten of the sites. Levies need to be paid on sites that are registered on the derelict sites list but City Hall is exempt from paying this.
A spokesperson for Cork City Council said: “It is important to note that it is not the case that the council allowed its own properties to become derelict.
“These are derelict sites that were in that condition when the council acquired them. The majority of these sites, ten out of the 16, relate to social housing proposals that are at various stages of the process.
“The Derelict Sites Act allows for a levy to be charged on urban land. However the definition of urban land in the derelict sites legislation does not include land owned by a State authority or by the local authority in whose functional area the land is situated.”
Speaking about City Hall acquiring these sites, Fianna Fáil Cllr Kenneth O’Flynn said new rules need to be brought in where by councils don’t need to pay the full market price for them. He said City Hall doesn't have the funds to acquire derelict sites.
He said: “It is all well and good saying that Cork City Council can compulsory purchase order (CPO) a site that’s in derelict condition but it’s a pricey business. The council have to pay the market price for the building and then bring it up to a standard that’s then liveable in.”
The northside councillor is calling on the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government to enact new legislation where any city or council wanting to CPO a property doesn’t have to pay the full market price for it.
“Use it or lose it! It’s that type of situation. Most owners want to fix their buildings and don’t have the money but some landlords are just sitting on properties as they go to wrack and ruin and I think this would be a fair way of dealing with the issue,” Cllr O’Flynn added.