Derelict properties in Castlebar town centre to be demolished for new social housing units
Four derelict buildings in the heart of Castlebar are set to be demolished in the next few weeks.
The council-owned units along Ellison Street will be cleared to make way for 13 new social housing units.
The development will include one studio apartment, six one-bedroom apartments, four two-bedroom apartments, and two three-bedroom apartments.
The rejuvenation of Ellison Street is part of a wider regeneration project for Castlebar, which will also see a number of units brought back into use across Lower Charles Street, Barrack Bridge, and Riverside.
Councillors in the Castlebar Municipal District welcomed the news that demolition works are scheduled to begin from the end of March into early April.
The buildings have been a point of contention over the past year, with councillors describing them as “despicable” and saying they had been “letting the whole town down.”
When reading out the proposal for the Part Eight, Cathaoirleach of the Municipal District Al McDonnell said: “Thank God for that anyhow because they are an absolute eyesore.”
Welcoming the news, Cllr Cyril Burke requested a clear timeline for the tender and construction process.
Head of the Municipal District David Mellett explained that contractors were onsite this week completing clearance works to facilitate the demolition.
Mr Mellett said demolition is expected to start “end of March early April” and noted that the tenure process for construction is “well progressed,” with works expected to begin in Q2 or Q3 of this year.
“Demolition work will [begin] in the next few weeks,” he confirmed, adding that the entire project could take around 24 months to complete, factoring in both demolition and construction processes.
He also noted that the footpath will have to be closed off and parking spaces will not be available while work is underway.
The works on Ellison Street aim to tackle dereliction by bringing vacant and neglected town-centre buildings back into use, while also providing much-needed housing for those on the waiting list.
Cllr Harry Barrett said he was “absolutely delighted” to hear that the units would be coming down soon, adding that they were a “major eyesore” in the town and that the development would be a “major confidence boost for Castlebar”.
Cllr Blackie Gavin described it as great news to see this area of the town being cleaned up “at long last,” and complimented executive architect at Mayo County Council, Philip Prendergast.
He added that Mr Prendergast has done fantastic work on the project, saying: “these are the people we need in our town, people who can drive capital projects forward like this.”
A second Part Eight agreement was also approved at the meeting for the development of 64 housing units at Lawn Road in Castlebar.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.