Give vacant Celtic Tiger buildings and sites to community groups

I receive letters from sports/youth clubs and other associations, including Midleton Men’s Shed, asking for local authorities to acquire vacant sites and buildings that have been left undeveloped since the collapse of the property market.

This is a major problem nationwide. These unsightly vacant lots should be given over for use as community allotments to provide housing for the elderly, or as playing fields to promote cultural and educational activities.

Midleton Men’s Shed needs a vacant building. Established in 2012, Men’s Shed has proved of major benefit to the town and environs, so much so that the present building is not adequate to cope with the demand.

Organisers are now in search of a large building to accommodate a waiting list for access to workshops and the therapeutic centre. Midleton Men’s Shed is a not-for-profit community organisation.

It is part of the National Men’s Shed Organisation, whose patron is President Michael D Higgins. Let’s hope this association will benefit from one of the many empty buildings in and around Midleton.

I renew this proposal in answer to the population increase of the last decade, which has been coupled with under-funding from central government for community infrastructure.

Right across the county of Cork, and the country, thousands of acres of development land lie untouched: Growing weeds, or covered in mounds of unsightly earth, disused containers and rubble, not to mention partially constructed houses.

While the local authority is responsible for ensuring that errant developers keep their sites secure and tidy, it must pursue developers through the courts, if the builder ignores council warnings to clean up a site.

Meanwhile, local authorities are left with no funding to pursue builders and no funding to purchase lands, which would be for the greater good.

I believe some consideration should be given to allowing the council acquire these sites.

Cllr Noel Collins

St Jude’s

Midleton

Co Cork