Former Mallow Park Hotel cited in Dáil debate over derelict sites
SEÁN SHERLOCK’S BILL WOULD MAKE IT EASIER FOR COUNCILS TO RECOUP MONEY SPENT MAKING EMPTY BUILDINGS SAFE
THE long-running saga over the future of the former Central Hotel building in Mallow has been cited in the Dáil as a prime example of why urgent changes are needed to the 1990 Derelict Sites act.
The issue was raised on the floor of the house by Cork East Labour TD Seán Sherlock, in a motion calling for the act to be amended to give local authorities power to claim back expenses incurred in making buildings that have been empty for long periods of time safe. It called for the introduction of a Bill amending the 1990 Act to “give security to local authorities, by way of creating a charge on the land concerned, in relation to the expenses incurred by the local authority in order to give effect to measures which the local authority considers to be necessary in order to prevent the land from becoming, or continuing to be, a derelict site”.
Deputy Sherlock pointed out, that under the Act, a local authority can serve notice on the owner or occupier of such a site and, should they not reply to this within a specified time, can take steps – including entry on land by authorised persons – as it considers reasonable and necessary to
give effect to the terms of the notice.
The authority can also recover expenses incurred from the person to whom the notice was served.
However, he further pointed out that if the site belongs to an insolvent company, and a liquidator sells it on, the proceeds must be distributed to rules relating to priority of debts.
This means that secured debtors come first, with unsecured debtors at the end of the queue, meaning there may not be any money left to cover the costs of remedial works undertaken by a local authority.
“The Bill proposes a short amendment to the Act so as to convert the expenses incurred by the local authority into a charge on the land, making the authority a secured creditor for the purposes of a subsequent liquidation,” said Deputy Sherlock.
“The main reason I am introducing this legislation is that in my own home town of Mallow we have a derelict site, the former Central Hotel, which gave rise to legislation in 2012. A fire at the hotel, where there was continuing dereliction, gave rise to a court sitting.”
He referred to a report in carried an edition of The Corkman last December after a fire, the fifth to have taken place at the hotel since it closed in 2007, caused further damage to the building.
It went on to point out that, in 2012, the then owners of the building – listed as Stratfield Ltd, Frank Mulcahy, Formenton Ltd and Mulcahy Enterprises – were hit with a fine of €91,033.07 plus legal costs under the Dangerous Structures provision of the 1964 bill.
This total also included recouping cost of the remedial work undertaken by the then Mallow Town Council.
A Cork County Council official confirmed to The Corkman this week that the monies still remain outstanding.
Deputy Sherlock said that, in the case of the Mallow Park Hotel, “and countless other derelict sites around the country”, where a site is in the ownership of an insolvent company, there was no mechanism in place to recoup monies spent by a local authority in making the site safe.
“The purpose of this legislation is to make good that wrong and ensure the taxpayer is protected such that, where a local authority intervenes to protect citizens in a streetscape in the event of a building becoming derelict and requiring to be made safe, the authority will not be left at a loss for the costs of doing so,” he said.
“I am hopeful the Government will support this Bill and that it will receive cross-party support, because this issue affects each and every one of us in our constituencies.”
The proposed amendment, which was read without any objection from Government, passed its first stage and will now be the subject of future debate during Private Members Time.
IT’S gearing up to be another memorable year for equestrian ace Shane Sweetnam after the Castlemagner native beat stiff opposition to clinch victory at a five-star event in Palm Beach, Florida.
The 40-year-old, who is based in Florida, edged a dramatic jump-off in the Douglas Elliman Real Estate Grand Prix at the Winter Equestrian Festival in the Palm Beach International Equestrian Centre.
The event, which featured a field of 40 entrants, including five of the world’s top-10 ranked riders, saw Sweetnam and his 12-year-old Reinlander gelding Alejandro emerge victorious following the nine-rider jump-off – earning them a cool $132,330 in the process.
The event went right to the wire, with world-number-two-ranked Swiss rider Martin Fuchs and his 15-yearold 2018 world championship individual-winning mount, Westphalian gelding Clooney 51, in pole position with a clear round in 37.19 seconds.
However, cometh the hour, cometh the man, with Sweetnam, after a daring gallop to the final fence, turning in a perfect round in 37.03 to clinch victory by the tightest of margins from Fuchs.
Another Irish rider, Wexford’s Bertram Allen, on the Irish Spot Horse Pacino Amiro, also made it into the jump-off, eventually finishing sixth after taking down one fence in a time of 37.18.
Speaking after the event, Sweetnam said he had a clear plan of action in place ahead of the jump-off.
“Obviously Clooney is one of the best horses in the world, and I watched Devin (Ryan, The US rider who finished in third place) and saw his numbers. So, I just thought about having a good rhythm from the start, and I tried to do the same as Devin,” he said.
“I have a very quick horse, and he’s quick in the air. It was very close at the end, so you had to have a bit of luck to get there, and it happened today.”
It was something of a sweet redemption for Sweetnam, who started riding Alejandro two years ago.
“I got him when he was quite green and raw, and we have built a great relationship. The break because of COVID was good for him because it gave him time to chill out a bit, without traveling and doing bigger classes. Since then, he’s really been on form and placed in the top three or four in every grand prix he has done,” said Sweetnam.
“At the start of circuit, I blew the three-star under the lights...I was too far off the last fence, so I was mad at myself. It wasn’t really his fault, so I made up for it today and he made the difference,” he added.