Former Tipperary Chinese restaurant to be demolished to make way for homes
A former Chinese restaurant in Tipperary will be knocked down to create two social homes, it has been confirmed.
At the December meeting of the Tipperary-Cahir-Cashel Municipal District, Sinn Féin councillor for Tipperary town Annemarie Ryan asked the council’s housing section for an update on the two social homes that are planned for the town.
Tipperary County Council is planning to build the social homes on the site of the former Mughal’s Chinese restaurant on Father Matthew Street, which has lain empty for a number of years.
Works on the site got underway in 2024, but the discovery of historic skeletal remains on the site delayed the project. Because of the discovery, the original scheme of houses was halved from four to two.
At this month’s meeting, Cllr Ryan asked the housing section for an update on the proposed properties.
"The two units on Father Matthew Street – where the medieval bones were found – are they ground floor units or are they two-storey?” she asked.
"I’ve had queries from neighbours beside the site, is the Mughal’s Chinese going to be knocked down because of the remains at the back?”
In response, a member of the housing section said that the old restaurant on the site will be knocked down.
"They’re duplex apartments that we’re proposing for the front of that site, so the existing building is to be demolished, but given what was found during the investigations, we will apply for planning as we’re going,” he explained.
The units on the site will be two, one-bedroom apartments, councillors were told.
Cllr Ryan also raised concerns about the lack of social housing builds in the town, despite there being 223 people on the council’s housing list in Tipperary town alone.
"The number of people on the list is up to 223, and that’s in Tipperary town alone, but we have no more plans for a social housing build in Tipperary town,” she said.
“It’s very concerning. The last housing that was provided by Tipperary County Council was Aherlow Meadows, which is a fabulous estate,” Cllr Ryan said.
The Aherlow Meadows estate was officially launched in 2022, after the houses were finished construction in 2021.
A representative from the housing section said that the council “are looking for sites across the county” to provide more social housing on.
"Tipperary town definitely does need further social housing investment, and we’ll go through the process of trying to find a solution for that,” the meeting heard.