‘Unfit’ Tipperary home to be demolished due to structural cracking caused by riverbank
A Tipperary County Council-owned house is facing demolition, after structural problems caused by its foundations being built too close to a riverbank.
The council is planning on demolishing the existing home in Newport, and has applied to An Coimisiún Pleanála for planning permission to do so.
The council is seeking to knock down number 85, Mulkear View in Newport, as well as adding an extension to the neighbouring house, number 86.
The extension for house number 86 would be home to a downstairs bedroom, planning files show.
Under the plans, there will be no drainage or services alterations for the new extension, and waste water will continue to be treated at the Newport Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP).
The estate was built by a private developer in the mid-2000s, but some of the properties were left unfinished from 2011 following the financial crash.
Number 85 is currently “not fit for habitation” because when it was built, the foundations of the house were built too close to the bank of the neighbouring Mulkear River.
“The developer had completed the construction of houses No 85 and No 86 but house No 85 was constructed too close to the bank of the river,” planning files state.
“The foundations of No 85 are overhanging the riverbank and the property is not fit for habitation. The foundations of this house are undermined and is causing subsidence and structural cracking between No 85 and No 86,” an agent working on behalf of the council said.
The homes have been vacant for more than 10 years, and were bought by Tipperary County Council with the aim of bringing them back into residential use.
“Tipperary County Council purchased these properties in order to rectify the issues of overhanging with No 85 and to bring No 86 back into circulation as a residential property.
“These proposals will revitalise an abandoned corner of this nice well established residential development,” the agent said.
Also proposed for the site is a public walkway along the Mulkear River, next to the extension of number 86.
It has not been outlined whether the refurbished property will ultimately be allocated to someone on the council’s housing list or sold on the private market.
An Coimisiún Pleanála are due to make a decision on the application by February 18, 2027.