Cork councillor proposes using developer bonds to fix remedial issues in estates to be taken in charge
CorkmanBonds paid by developers when building housing estates should be used to finance remedial works while those estates are waiting to be taken in charge by the local authority, a Cork councillor has proposed.
At this week’s meeting of Cobh Municipal District (MD), Cllr Sinead Sheppard put forward a motion requesting information on bonds on estates within the MD and whether those bonds can be used to pay for fixing issues within the estates.
“We have estates in Cobh, we have an estate in Watergrasshill, we have an estate in Knockraha and they've all been waiting over a decade to be taken in charge with a huge amount of work that needs to be carried out,” she said.
“We have people ringing us saying ‘Could you fill a pothole?’ or ‘I'm coming out of my house and it's completely flooded’ and we're saying we're really sorry, we can't go in there because the estate's not taken in charge.”
The Cobh councillor called for the monies contained in the developer bonds to be released “so that our engineers can go in and carry out remedial works.”
Developer bonds are a form of security required by local authorities as a condition of planning permission. They guarantee that a developer will complete essential infrastructure, like roads and sewers, to the required local standard. If the developer fails to meet these obligations, the local authority can call on the bond to cover the costs of completing the work.
Cllr Anthony Barry, agreeing with Cllr Sheppard’s motion, said “we've inherited a mess. People are paying property tax, they're getting no service because the estate hasn't been taken in charge. And some of these estates will take years before they can get taken in charge.”
He said an estate in Carrigtwohill is currently going through the taking in charge process “and the minute it's taken in charge, the council are going to be levied with a slew of requests. Why can we not during the planning process anticipate these issues that are going to arise?”
Cllr Sheila O’Callaghan also supported the motion. “It's very difficult to explain to people that, okay, the lights are taken in charge, but the roadways aren't actually taken in charge. We have learned from our mistakes and the bonds have increased. But with the previous ones where the bonds are just so small, funding will have to be allocated in some way to try and clear the backlog that is there,” she said.
Cork County Council senior engineer Gerard O’Hoara told the MD that the motion has been passed on to the relevant section of the council’s planning directorate for a response as to whether the developer bonds can be used in that way.