Waterford to receive €9 million for vacant properties
Senator John Cummins (second from left) at Manor Hill which was completed under the Repair & Lease Scheme pictured with officials from Waterford City & County Council including Director of Services for Housing, Ivan Grimes (right)
Waterford is to receive €9 Million to bring 130 local vacant or derelict residential and commercial properties back into use throughout the city and town centres in the county.
Confirming the news, Fine Gael’s, Senator John Cummins, said the funding was allocated following the latest update on the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF), commenting: “1,224 long-term vacant properties around Ireland have now been chosen and approved under this scheme, including 130 in Waterford which will have a real impact across Waterford and Ireland as a whole.”
“Waterford City and County Council will be given funding to cover the purchase of the properties and any works required to make the properties more suitable for sale,” said Senator Cummins, who is Fine Gael’s spokesperson on Housing, Local Government and Heritage. He said such works could include improving access, tidying up, opening to facilitate inspections and cleaning up titles.
“They will then be offered for private sale to those who commit to bringing the property back into residential use,” he said.
“There are several grants now in place by the Government to help Waterford buyers do this, like the Vacant and Derelict Property Refurbishment Grant, the SEAI energy efficiency grants or the Repair and Leasing Scheme,” he added. Senator Cummins went on to comment: “Over the last number of years, this issue has been a huge priority of mine and we have made huge progress here in Waterford. We are the national leaders in the Repair & Lease Scheme.”
“We have had good numbers of units delivered via the introduction of the commercial to residential exemption from planning, which I brought through the Joint Oireachtas Committee,” he said.
“The Buy and Renew Scheme is working well too,” he added. Senator Cummins also said the increase in the vacant property refurbishment grant to €50,000, with a €20,000 top up where the property is derelict, has made many projects viable.
“I want to see the momentum we have generated in Waterford replicated nationwide,” he said. Meanwhile, Minister of State for Housing, Alan Dillon TD, said: “The URDF has been a real game-changer for our towns and cities, breathing new life into them and making them better places to work in, to live in and to visit. Urban regeneration isn’t a luxury, but a real necessity for the beating heart of our urban centres and I’m delighted to see it in action across so many counties.”
