A DANGEROUS building in Tulla is to be made safe by Clare County Council, after the owner failed to comply with several requests for action to address the situation.
There have been a number of false dawns in terms of works on the vacant building on Main Street, with numerous efforts made by the local authority to communicate with the owner and to get them to make the building safe.
Since a Dangerous Structures Notice was issued five months ago, the footpath has been closed and disruption caused to vehicular as well as pedestrian traffic in the town.
Last week, the Council moved to inform members of the Killaloe Municipal District that it is to carry out the works and that a contactor has been procured.
Councillors were told that while multiple opportunities were given to the owner, no works had materialised.
An exact date for the beginning of the works has not been confirmed. The Council has previously said that the works are likely to take ten days to complete.
Commenting on the development, Councillor Pat Hayes who has repeatedly raised concerns over the extent of dereliction in the town centre, commended the Council’s actions.
“Clare County Council have done their best to have the owners resolve this issues, which has been causing considerable inconvenience right through the summer,” he said.
“I welcome the fact that action will now be taken, but it is unfortunate that they have been left carrying the can over this issue.”
The Fianna Fáil member repeated his concerns about dereliction and its impact in the heart of Tulla.
“It is time that the situation was addressed, because we have a number of positive developments which will boost the appearance of Tulla, but the bigger issues is the vacant property in the town centre,” he said.
“I welcome the announcement of the Streetscape Enhancement Initiative, which will enable people to apply for works to boost the appearance of shop fronts.
“We also approved the district paint scheme for Tulla which will see €10,000 spent on the town. All of this is very positive,” he added.
Last April, Clare County Council confirmed that the building in question has been the subject of a Dangerous Structures Notice “issued in accordance with Section 3(1)(a) of the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1964 as amended”.