Cork council to purchase two adjoining derelict properties in city centre

Council chief executive Ann Doherty said the council was progressing with the refurbishment of eight properties that were either derelict or vacant. File picture: Gerard McCarthy

Cork City Council has moved to acquire two long-term adjoining derelict properties in the heart of the city.

The local authority has published public notices signalling its intent to exercise its powers under the Derelict Sites Act, 1990, to acquire compulsorily the properties at 23 and 24 Lower John Street.

The three-storey properties have been boarded up for some time and subjected to extensive graffiti. Both have been on the city's derelict sites register since December 2017.

According to the publicly accessible register, the ownership of number 23 cannot be established. It has valued the property at €30,000.

The register lists the owners of number 24 as Gerry Garvey, Raymond Shanahan, and the Frederic Ozanam Trust, and values the property at €45,000.

The notices, one for each property, say any owner, lessee, or occupier, except a tenant for a month or a period less than a month, can submit an objection to the proposed compulsory acquisition of the properties by July 11.

Any objections to the CPOs must be made in writing. If an objection to a CPO is not withdrawn, the council’s application to CPO the properties must go to An Bord Pleanála for consideration, and the CPO can only be approved with the board’s consent.

The property at number 23 is bounded on the north by number 24, on the east by Lower John Street and on the south and west by an apartment complex.

The property at number 24 is bounded on the north by number 25, on the east by Lower John Street, on the south by number 23 Lower John Street, and on the west by the apartment complexes at Roman Court.

In a report to city councillors this week, council chief executive Ann Doherty said the council was progressing with the refurbishment of eight properties that were either derelict or vacant with funding approved by the Department of Housing.

The refurbishment of five has been completed, with an additional derelict site at Gould Street being progressed with plans to demolish the existing structure and building a new house.