‘Serious eyesore’ in Offaly village ‘bringing whole place down’ and causing safety issue

A “serious eyesore” in an Offaly village is “bringing the whole place down” and causing a safety issue, a council meeting has heard.

The issue was raised by Fine Gael councillor Eleanor Clendennen at the April meeting of the Birr Municipal District.

Cllr Clendennen said: “The derelict building in Kinnitty. There was a notice put on it last September which was fantastic and it kind of gave a glimmer of hope to the local residents.

“It’s great to see money being put into The Offaly Way and walkways up the mountain but this is a serious eyesore in the centre of the village.

“The windows are broken and it’s deteriorating more day by day. I was talking to a colleague of yours in regen last week and they were saying that no one came forward.

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“I’m just wondering if the first notice was put out last September, what’s the next step to push it on?”

In response, Olwen Cummins, Town Regeneration Officer at Offaly County Council, outlined what the council intends to do next.

Ms Cummins said: “[The next step is] to give notice that it’s going on the Derelict Sites Register and then put it on the Derelict Sites Register.

“At the moment then, that’s as far as we can go. We don’t have any fund to CPO it or do it up.

“I’d say the best thing we can do is put it on the Derelict Sites Register [and then] it’s going to be subject to levies.

“If nobody comes out of the woodwork then as an owner, we should be putting pressure on ourselves to CPO it and sell it on the market.”

She concluded by saying that it could take a year and a half or two years before a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) is carried out and the property is sold.

Cllr Clendennen responded by welcoming the fact that the property, which is located on Main Street, is set to go on the Derelict Sites Register.

She stated: “It would be great to get a fixed notice on it to keep pushing it on because Kinnitty is looking so well. It’s a pity it’s bringing the whole place down.”

Cllr Clendennen concluded by saying that the building is causing a safety issue due to the amount of broken glass outside it.