‘Change to residential’

Blaine Gaffney, Fine Gael ‘Area Representative’ has suggested that in an attempt to tackle the large amount of empty and rundown retail units in Sligo town, commercial landlords should consider changing these into new residential units.

He is encouraging owners, whose properties may have been empty for long periods of time “to begin to consider availing of a soon to be introduced Government regulation which will ensure that the requirement to obtain planning permission in order to convert old and vacant retail units and ‘over the shop’ type spaces into badly needed residential housing units in urban areas is no longer required by Sligo County Council.”