Irish Examiner review: New approach needed on Revival Road

Why is action to clean up and return derelict buildings to the community so sluggish?

A derelict building in Blackpool in Cork.

Housing, so we are told every day, is one of the two most pressing problems occupying the citizens of this State. The other is the cost of living which may, or may not, be a transient issue depending on the degree to which you place your faith in politicians and the forecasts of the European Central Bank.

But homes, both for purchase, and which are affordably rentable, are a dilemma that successive governments have not been able to resolve.

To the untutored eye, it is both concerning and galling to observe the large numbers of derelict buildings and unused waste ground which can be seen throughout the Republic’s towns and cities. Our reporter, Eoin English, has lifted the roof on the manifold causes which contribute to neglect, and which impoverish the potential stock of housing available to citizens, by concentrating on an audit of locations in Cork, a city viewed as one of the major motors of Ireland’s growth in the national strategic plan.

The definition of dereliction which appears in legislation, now 32 years old, appears wide-ranging enough. It is a site “which detracts, or is likely to detract, to a material degree from the amenity, character or appearance of land in the neighbourhood.... because of structures which are in a ruinous, derelict or dangerous condition, or the neglected, unsightly or objectionable condition of the land or of structures on it, or the presence, deposit or collection of litter, rubbish, debris or waste”.  

There is no shortage of these around the country. So why is action to clean up and return these assets to the public weal so very sluggish? As in many problems the cause is the lack of a defined national strategy with an identifiable and accountable champion coupled with inadequate and divided resources. In many other cities of Europe, a vacant plot of land would stimulate intense activity to define its ownership, place a commercial value upon it, acquire it, and place it back into general use and benefit. Here, in Ireland, not so much.

Some urban sites are blighted because they fall within the footprint of regeneration plans under the aegis of local authorities. But these cannot be considered to be open-ended. 

Acquisition programmes can be complex, costly, and over-bureaucratic and the process of consultation and appeal can be too protracted. 

Councils have finite resources, something which is not going to improve any time soon, and it is time to consider whether ultimate responsibility should be given to a new form of organisation with different objectives and a target related to expanding the stock of housing available within a much shorter timescale.

In a revealing, unconnected, but parallel interview this weekend with the Irish Examiner, serial litigant Peter Sweetman shared his thoughts on the tally of legal victories he has achieved particularly in relation to planning laws and decisions made by An Bord Pleanála.

Planning, says Mr Sweetman, is governed by a UN treaty-based on human rights and, if these are going to be diluted, he warns, then the case could successfully be challenged in Europe.

If the country really does want to make housing a priority, rather than just an election pledge, then we may have to swallow legislative and constitutional change, a reduction of property-owning rights, and an accelerated, and much flatter, planning and appeals process. Otherwise, what will be left are crocodile tears and handwringing.