Pyrite scheme shortfall placing huge strain on homeowners

THE first Westport family to demolish their pyrite-stricken house have moved back into a newly built home.

The Claxton family, who demolished their home in Páirc na Coille last October, have moved into a new house built on the site of their old house.

Thirty-two houses in Páirc na Coille have applied for the Government’s pyrite redress scheme, which entitles eligible homeowners to up to €420,000 in compensation to rebuild their home.

However, as the redress is calculated based on square footage, many homeowners in Páirc na Coille have been left with a considerable shortfall even after obtaining the grant.

Shortfall

Linda Claxton told The Mayo News that she will be liable for costs of €80,000 by the time her home is fully rebuilt.

“The grant I got from Mayo County Council was €193,330. Mayo County Council retains 10 percent of that grant until your house is signed off by your engineer at the end, so I got €173,000,” she said.

“My engineer was €10,000, so he had to be paid on the first drawdown. So that brought me to €160,000 to rebuild the house. It wasn’t doable.”

The interior of the new house remains partially incomplete while the front of the house has yet to be landscaped. The house was constructed with Insulating concrete form (ICF) instead of concrete blocks.

Ms Claxton has also installed underfloor heating, a heat pump and solar panels in order to offset some of the construction costs in the long run.

_{Linda Claxton's pyrite-ridden home in Páirc na Coille being demolished last November Pic: The Mayo News}

In order to reduce the rebuild costs, Ms Claxton, worked as project manager for the rebuilding of her home and did much of the interior work herself.

Her family lived in a rental property in Kylemore while their house was being rebuilt, during which time Ms Claxton continued to work full-time in Westport. Her daughter, Tia, continued to attend secondary school in Sancta Maria College in Louisburgh.

“It took up a lot of my week. I was here at a quarter-to-eight, every morning, seven days a week. I opened the gates for them. I left here around two o’clock, going to work. Back up the next morning and come in,” explained Ms Claxton.

“It was very tiring at the start. Once I saw the house coming along and the ICF coming along and the roof started coming… it was only then when I saw the roof here that I could see light at the end of the tunnel. I stood across the road and I said ‘I’m getting my house back’. Up to that, I couldn’t see it.”

FOI request

Six houses in Páirc na Coille are currently being rebuilt. The nearby Sharkey Hill Community Centre is also infected with pyrite, which causes building blocks to gradually weaken and crumble.

Many homeowners in Páirc na Coille are currently facing bills of between €50,000 and €100,000 to rebuild their houses after accessing the pyrite redress scheme.

The 54-unit estate was built in the early 2000s as an affordable housing scheme. A total of 53 loans were issued by Mayo County Council for the properties, many of which subsequently tested positive for pyrite.

The newly formed Páirc na Coille Residents Association have accused the local authority of ‘washing their hands’ of the problem.

Mayo County Council was recently criticised for refusing a Freedom of Information request for inspection reports, building condition assessments and various other correspondence relating to the estate.