Fresh calls for demolition of unsafe former Tipperary pub — ‘There’s potential for loss of life’
Urgent calls have again been made for action on a dangerous building on Carrick-on-Suir’s Main Street amid fears the remaining facade could collapse and pose a risk to public safety.
At the May meeting of the Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District, Fianna Fáil councillor and former building contractor Kieran Bourke once again raised serious concerns about the safety of the former Tír na nÓg pub on Carrick-on-Suir’s Main Street.
The former pub suffered a fire several years ago, and now all that is left of the building is the front wall, which has significantly deteriorated.
Cllr Bourke raised the issue at last month’s district meeting, but said that since then, no one from Tipperary County Council’s environment or planning sections - who have responsibility for dangerous structures - had gotten back to him about it.
“I raised a very serious issue about Main Street, Carrick-on-Suir, about a dangerous structure, and representatives from planning were down, but I’m very disappointed with officials, nobody came back to me personally through email, through phone or in person to say what’s happening with the dangerous structure.
“I did see that hoarding was put in front of this dangerous structure and bollards were put beside parked cars, and I welcome that, but I still think it’s not good enough,” Cllr Bourke said.
The Fianna Fáil councillor previously worked as a building contractor, and said that in his opinion, the building was in a dangerously unsafe condition.
Even though the building is privately owned, Cllr Bourke said that the council needed to step up and make the building safe for people walking down the town’s Main Street.
“We as a local authority need to make this site safe immediately and we need to take down this front wall, that’s all that’s remaining.
“If we don’t take it down, it’s going to fall down,” he said.
District Cathaoirleach Cllr David Dunne agreed with Cllr Bourke, saying he is “disappointed” to hear that no one got back to his council colleague.
“It’s very, very, very important that this is dealt with and not left on the long finger, but now with the hoarding we are losing a disabled parking space and another space.
“Councillor Bourke rightly said, using his years of experience within the building trade, he knows how unsafe this is, this is a very, very dangerous structure. He’s not over egging the pudding when he says there is a potential for loss of life with this building,” Cllr Dunne said.
In response, Denis Holland from the council’s environment section said that the main responsibility for taking the building out of a dangerous state rests with the building owner.
“We have been engaging actively with the owners. As you rightly point out, we did erect hoarding around the site to remove any immediate danger that might be presented by the structure,” Mr Holland said .
However, if the council’s engagement with the building’s owner does not prove fruitful, he explained, the council wouldn’t hesitate to use the legal channels available to them.
“We can serve a statutory notice requiring the owners to carry out specified works to make the building non-dangerous. If that notice is not complied with, we do have authority to enter on the site ourselves and carry out whatever works are deemed necessary to render it non-dangerous,” he said.
“We have the authority to recover the costs incurred by that from the owner, but to go down the legal route, we have to be absolutely certain that any legal mechanism is robust and will stand up in court,” Mr Holland added.
Cllr Bourke said that he still wasn’t satisfied with the answer from the environment section, saying that the council had knocked down parts of the building before when it was in a dangerous condition.
Mr Holland said that if the council were to undertake works on the site, that there would be a cost involved that members of the district would have to come up with from elsewhere in the budget.
“What cost do you put on a person’s life?” Cllr Bourke asked.
“I, as an elected public representative have always stepped up to the plate supporting Tipperary County Council when it came to budgets, and I have a fair idea of what it would cost to take down the front of that building, and I can assure you Denis, with respect, you wouldn’t break a budget taking it down,” the councillor added.
Mr Holland said that the council had to go through a legal process before any action could be taken on the structure, and that dealing with derelict and dangerous structures can be a “problem area” with no easy solution.