EDITORIAL: Government and councils must work together to tackle dereliction

THE problem of dereliction is one that has blighted towns across our county for many years. It is extremely unfortunate that many buildings, even on the main streets of our towns, have been vacant for long periods without any real effort to repurpose them and make them of use to various community groups.
It is therefore welcome that the Government is now taking steps in ensure that a real effort is made to tackle vacant properties through investment under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme. Funding from this scheme has now been earmarked for an initial three Mayo projects.
Fine Gael TD Michael Ring announced on Monday that those three projects are in Charlestown, Bellacorick and Louisburgh.
In Charlestown, the former Broadway Restaurant building is to be used as a multi-purpose community space. In Bellacorrick, the old Garda barracks is to be used as a community hub for informal gatherings, a community gym and a remote working hub. Finally, in Louisburgh, the former HSE Centre is to house the very active Louisburgh Area Men’s Shed.

Benefiting communities
DEPUTY Ring stated: “This announcement represents the second year of investment under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme’s Building Acquisition Measure, which is designed to bring vacant and derelict properties back into use in our town and village centres. The investment in these three projects in Mayo will bring new life to these run-down buildings and turn them into facilities which will benefit communities for generations to come. It is vital that we continue to put funding in to our rural communities at every suitable opportunity. It is wonderful to see vacant buildings being brought back to life and used for the common good.”
Twenty-four projects in total are to benefit from the €4.5 million investment, and one would hope many more buildings will benefit from further funding under the scheme.
Buildings that that will be revamped under the initiative include former schools, post offices, parish halls, restaurants, Garda stations and public houses, as well as vacant sites.
Mayo County Council also has a huge role to play in tackling vacancy and dereliction in our towns, particularly at a time when there is such a shortage of housing stock across the county.
Local authorities can acquire vacant/derelict properties that are either not on the market for sale or to which the market has not responded. They can then offer these properties for private sale to individuals in return will commit to bringing the property into use as a home.
A co-ordinated approach between Government and local authorities is definitely the way forward. If it works, slowly but surely we should see more and more vacant buildings been put to use, breathing some new life back into our town and villages.