€2 million announced to target dereliction in Mayo

FUNDING of €2 million is being allocated to Mayo County Council under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) call 3.

This funding is specifically targeted at tackling vacancy and dereliction in cities and towns with the dual benefit of improving streetscapes and providing additional housing.

Local authorities will acquire vacant/derelict properties which are either not on the market for sale or to which the market has not responded. They will then offer these properties for private sale to individuals who in return will commit to bringing the property into use as a home.

Proceeds from the sale of these properties will ensure a rolling programme of acquisitions and disposals is in place.

Welcoming the funding, Deputy Michael Ring commented: “I am pleased with the funding allocation to Mayo which will hopefully bring existing long term vacant and derelict buildings and sites into use for residential and other purposes.”

Deputy Alan Dillon highlighted how this fund is extremely important in Mayo where there are currently 284 sites on the derelict sites register.

He explained: “In one of our biggest Mayo towns (Ballina) there are 73 derelict sites registered as vacant and derelict. The second highest (Castlebar) has 29 derelict sites.

“A dedicated officer has been employed by Mayo County Council to address the issue of dereliction by engaging with owners of these buildings, issuing statutory notices and placing these sites on the register.

“Last year alone, just seven sites were removed from the register but many more replaced them. Just four buildings throughout Mayo were advanced through Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) and are at vesting order stage.

“I am delighted that this funding has now been allocated to assist the council in acquiring these unsightly building and bringing them back to life.”