FIXING THE BLIGHT OF DERELICTION WIDESPREAD URBAN DERELICTION DURING A NATIONAL HOUSING CRISIS IS AN AWFUL INDICTMENT OF HOUSING POLICY AND MUST BE TACKLED HEAD ON.
U
rban dereliction is a blight on
historic. An Post’s GeoDirectory suggests that in
services to our towns and cities.
our cities, towns and villages,
Q4 2020, there were more than 92,000 vacant
The plan is focused on the delivery of housing, but
on our communities, and on our architectural and
addresses across the State. Not all of these are
if local populations increase, commercial services
historic heritage. The reasons for this blight are
derelict but most are not in use, and many are
will follow and therefore, if successfully
numerous and often complex, but there is a direct
likely to fall into dereliction in due course.
implemented and adequately funded, Housing for
correlation between economic activity and
In response to an ongoing housing crisis the
All will have a significantly positive impact on the
dereliction. One can’t imagine many vacant
Government has published the much-anticipated
broader built environment across the State.
derelict buildings in affluent South County Dublin
and delayed Housing for All policy. The
The reasons that lead to dereliction are often
or Kinsale; it is much more prevalent in locations
Government is promoting four pathways to
complex and not easy to resolve. There is no one
that have experienced population and economic
delivering new housing stock, one of which is
easy fix solution. This will require a committed
decline.
addressing vacancy and efficient use of existing
and multi-faceted approach over successive
Other reasons include commercial viability, where
stock. They have devised a stick and carrot
governments, with a firm funding pledge. In the
the costs of refurbishment outweigh the end
approach, with both funding and financial
midst of an ongoing housing crisis, there is a
value. Planning, finance, legal issues and
incentives together with proposals to tax those
compelling and indeed moral obligation on us to
indifference on the part of property owners are all
who leave buildings vacant. The devil will be in the
address this issue in a comprehensive way.
contributing factors.
detail, which is currently rather limited, so we will
Moreover, the efficient re-use of existing vacant
have to wait and see when these initiatives will be
building stock is the most environmentally
Lack of figures
fully implemented and how successful they will
sustainable approach. The SCSI’s Planning and
The full extent of dereliction remains unknown as
be. However, they do seem to point in the right
Development
there are no up-to-date, accurate statistics
direction, in particular to providing much-needed
dereliction and property vacancy with a view to
available. CSO data is useful but frequently
financial incentives and the provision of improved
bringing forward proposals in the short term.
THE LAST WORD Gerard O’Toole Chartered Surveyor, member of the SCSI Planning and Development Committee
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SURVEYORS JOURNAL Volume 11, Issue 4, Winter 2021
Committee
is
researching
