ESTATE DERELICT FOR A DECADE
ARD an Óir housing estate at the entrance to the scenic Sneem village has been lying derelict for 10 years and almost a year after residents appealed to Kerry, County Council (KCC) to try and rectify the estate nothing has been done.
The estate remains largely as builders left it when the site was closed up in 2008, much to the upset of the local community who have appealed repeatedly over the years for works to try and clean up the derelict and empty housing estate.
The 42-unit housing estate is privately owned, unoccupied and unfinished. Its 42 units are in varying degrees of construction though it is understood that units at the front including the show house, which is fully furnished 10 years on, could be salvageable.
Work began on the housing estate in 2006 but it was closed up in 2008 when the developer Coolfada went into liquidation. The estate ended up in NAMA and most recently in the hands of Oaktree capital, a so called ‘vulture fund’.
Last year a deputation from Sneem appealed to KCC to access the bond, which is put in place as a condition of planning, but legal issues and difficulties have hampered efforts to access to this. The bond is put in place to ensure the completion of roads, services and green areas and it would help improve the site but not complete any of the units.
KCC called in the bond in 2013 and threatened legal proceedings against Quinn Insurance, the insurers of the bond. This has not happened. There is a statue of limitation on the bond of six years which means that the bond expires in 2019 – a fear that the deputation, representing residents, outlined to the Council.
Last July KCC said they would do their best to access the bond and said they too wanted to find a resolution for the site. The council do not own the development but they do have responsibilities under the derelict site act and can access the bond to undertake some works.