Call for council audit of unfinished estates

CLARE County Council have been urged to carry out improvements to unfinished estates around the county.

At this week’s meeting, Councillor John Crowe asked that an audit be undertaken of “all unfinished estates particularly in cases where the developer has gone into liquidation to ensure that all such estates are made safe for health and safety reasons.”

In a written reply, director of services Ger Dollard stated responsibility for health and safety matters on unfinished estates lies with owners/developers/receivers and that those involved with unfinished estates had been contacted and their responsibilities to ensure estates are safe and secure outlined.

“The council is carrying out inspections on all unfinished estates, including sites where developers have gone into liquidation. Dealing with safety matters to ensure the safety and security of these sites is a key priority for the council. The council is dealing with each unfinished estate on a case by case basis to address the health and safety risks on unfinished estates. The council will, if necessary, deal with these issues through its powers under Local Government (Sanitary Services Act) 1964 and Planning Enforcement to ensure unfinished estates are safe and secure.”

Councillor Crowe said there are “major problems with a lot of estates” and he identified lighting as a particular concern. “We have to look deeper to see what we can do,” he said.

Councillor Johnny Flynn said resolving residents’ concerns would help kickstart the local construction industry and he noted that some of the bonds are worth three-quarters of a million euro.