‘Dent’ will be put on housing crisis in 2018
VACANT shops could soon be turned into homes to help tackle the housing shortage – that is according to Duhallow councillor Gerard Murphy (FG).
He said that this is a very welcome development which would help revitalise the centre of towns and villages.
“This combined with the council initiative to provide up to €40,000 up front to enable works to be carried out to bring buildings up to standard is a much needed boost and incentive which will put a dent in the housing shortage,” he said.
Cllr Murphy said the draft regulations which have been brought forward by the Government before Christmas for vancant commercial premises to be made into housing without the need for planning permission.
Cllr Murphy said: “These draft regulations, if approved by the Oireachtas will allow the conversion of certain vacant commercial premiseshere in Cork such as empty retail units and over the shop type spaces to homes without the need for planning permission.”
It was his view that this will have a “dual benefit” of creating urgently needed housing supply in high demand areas, while at the same time breathing new life into towns and urban areas, many of which have been adversely affected by the econonmic downturn.
It was also his view that the first of the new measures being Development by the Minister for Housing, Eoghan Murphy and Minister of State, Damien English, will make it easier for property owners to “re-imagine the use of vacant and under-used buildings” without having to go through the planning process.