Re: Re: Derelict Rural Dwellings

@wexfordplanner wrote:

… I think the grants which you refer to are mainly for Georgian Housing and Protected Structures, it is doubtful that any rural derelict houses would qualify under these schemes??

Yes, there are those limitations, unfortunately, but there are many listed (supposedly protected) structures which are derelict and would qualify for grants. It’s sad that listing them fails to prompt any action to preserve them. South Tipperary CoCo (and others, I presume) intend to carry out a survey of all the thatched and formerly thatched structures in the county (only ~50 left, apparently) and all of them will be listed (as outlined in the Heritage Plan).

The survey was due for completion in 2004, but it has been delayed. South Tip CoCo now has no Heritage Officer (or Conservation Officer), so the Council is apparently appointing consultants to do the survey. I am extremely skeptical about whether or not listing the thatched structures that remain will help encourage their preservation, as this does not appear to have made a difference in the past, despite very high potential fines (€12,000 per day) for owners who fail to protect a listed structure from decay.

I agree that something needs to be done, because it’s such a waste of Ireland’s heritage/vernacular architecture that these dwellings are not in use. Their sympathetic restoration could provide sustainable housing for local people which would enhance the landscape, rather than scar it. This is why it is my mission to do all that I can to ensure the protection and restoration of such buildings. pure eire