Council has no plans to take over Carstown
A team of specialists, including a Conservation Architect and an Archaeologist, carried out an inspection at Carstown House on October 9th to assess the damage following the catastrophic fire that ripped through the building last month, it has been revealed.
In a report presented to Councillors at the November meeting of Drogheda Municipal District, the council said that in 2017 it secured funding from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht under the Built Heritage Investment Scheme 2017 (BHIS) to prop the fireplace with the 1612 Armorial Plaque and install a steel security door.
This work was scheduled to begin on October 9th 2017. The council had also intended to carry out a structural survey of the building.
The report outlines the history in the previous two years leading up to the fire and notes that a number of break-ins had led to the theft of lead and damage to the roof of the house in 2014 and 2015.
A section 59 Notice (require the owners to carry out works to prevent a building becoming or continuing to become endangered) was served on those considered to be the owners in April 2015 but no response was received to this notice.
Commenting on the situation at the meeting, Councillor Kevin Callan, who had raised concerns over the safety of the property and expressed fears of a fire onsite just weeks before the blaze broke out, again called on Louth County Council to take ownership of the building under the Derelict Sites Act so that it can be protected in the future.
He raised questions over the work done to the house before the fire took place.
‘I asked was the window boarded up and was told no. In the report it says funding was granted. When did funding come through from the Department?’
He also asked why it had not been initiated between it being raised in September and the fire in October.
Director of Services Paddy Donnelly said this was the second time Cllr Callan had made the point about the window and asked that if he had evidence to suggest that this was the point of entry that caused the fire then he should bring it to the council.
‘It is unfair to say that if the repair had been carried out the damage would not be caused. We are as interested as anyone else in protecting these buildings. There is no evidence to say that’s the point of access,’ he said.
Councillor Callan said he visited the site in September and said the window in question was the only point of entry that was unsecured at the time.
He said both plaques at the house date back to 1612 and reference Oliver Plunkett who was the uncle of St Oliver Plunkett. ‘ This is of national importance,’ he said.
Senior Engineer Pat Finn said the site is derelict and goes on a derelict site register. He said this means there is a levy imposed every year and also means it can be acquired by CPO but said there is a cost associated with that as the owner is entitled to compensation.