Legal hitch delays purchase of buildings that symbolise Cork city's dereliction problem

An Bord Pleanála considers each of the structures to be in 'a ruinous and dangerous condition'. Picture: Larry Cummins

Four vacant eyesore buildings which have come to symbolise the blight of dereliction in Cork city are still mired in a legal wrangle, with the dereliction set to endure indefinitely.

The four adjoining buildings on historic North Main Street were approved for acquisition by Cork City Council using the compulsory purchase order (CPO) process in February 2022. But the Irish Examiner reported last November how a legal snag, understood to be linked to the title of one of the properties, had emerged.

Now, eight months on, it has been confirmed that those matters have still not been resolved.

“The outstanding legal issues are still being dealt with, therefore we can’t confirm at the moment when the buildings will be offered for sale,” a spokesman said. The buildings will remain vacant and derelict until the issue is resolved.

Solidarity councillor Brian McCarthy, who lives on North Main St, said the delay was inexcusable. “There doesn’t seem to be any impetus on the part of the council to move forward with this with speed,” he said.

"This area of North Main St is effectively an empty lot. It is inexcusable that it hasn’t been resolved yet but is symbolic of how the city council and government are mismanaging the housing crisis.” He said the council should retain the properties and redevelop them as social housing.

The four buildings were owned by David O’Connor and Bryan O’Connor when they were placed on the derelict sites register in December 2015.

In June 2019, number 63 suffered a partial collapse, forcing the erection of large external steel A-frames to prop up its facade and the installation of hoarding which led to the closure of a section of public footpath for over a year.  

Despite protracted negotiations with the building owners’ representatives, the city had to step in during summer 2020 to carry out stabilisation works to remove the A-frames and re-open the public footpath.

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In summer 2021, it formally moved to CPO the buildings under Section 14 of the Derelict Sites Act 1990. The properties were listed as being in the hands of a receiver at the time.

At the same time, the council also moved to CPO 118 and 119 Barrack Street, also owned by David O’Connor, which had also been placed on the derelict sites register in 2015.

In December 2021, An Bord Pleanála approved the CPO of the two Barrack St buildings, one of which the city has since disposed of for redevelopment.

In February 2022, the board approved the CPO of the North Main St buildings saying it considered each of the structures to be in "a ruinous and dangerous condition", that the "neglected, unsightly and objectionable condition" of each property "detracts to a material degree from the amenity character and appearance of the land in the neighbourhood", and that they each met the definition of derelict under Section 3 of the Derelict Sites Act 1990.

But Mr McCarthy said whatever issues have emerged since, there appears to be little concerted effort to remove the dereliction once and for all. “Buildings have fallen into disrepair and crumbled on several streets, North Main St, Castle St, Tuckey St,” he said.