€2 million approved to fight dereliction in Portlaoise

Portlaoise has secured approval for €2 million under the Urban Regeneration Development Fund. 

The approved funding represents a key element of the Government’s Town Centre First policy which aims to improve urban areas by tackling dereliction. 

In its application for funding approval, Laois County Council identified 11 properties in the centre of Portlaoise which it hopes to bring back into use. The properties are a mixture of residential and commercial buildings which have fallen into disrepair.  

Council Chief Executive John Mulholland said Portlaoise was eligible for the funding as it had a population in excess of 10,000. He said the funding would address longterm vacancy and dereliction. 

The council said the initial focus of the funding will be on properties “located within town centre areas zoned as Mixed Use or City/Town/village Centre that will provide, as part of their ultimate end use, some element of residential use.” 

Local authorities can only use the fund to target the acquisition of long term vacant and derelict properties which are either not on the market for sale or to which the market has not responded and which are on their approved acquisition programme. 

This is deemed necessary to prevent local authorities competing with other potential buyers of vacant or derelict properties and mitigate against the risk of property price inflation arising from the programme. 

Laois County Council identified 11 properties within Portlaoise Town Centre which met the criteria eligible for this scheme. 

However, the council say they won't release details of the properties as discussions with the owners have yet to take place. 

They said each of the properties identified has been vacant for at least two years and there will have to be scope for some residential use for the property. 

€7.5 spent on €11 million Portlaoise Library

A total of €2 million has now been approved to pursue the acquisition of these and /or other properties to remedy dereliction and vacancy within Portlaoise Town Centre.