COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE

Monday, January 23, 2017

QUESTION NO. 3

QUESTION: Councillor D. Richardson

"To ask the Chief Executive to please report on derelict buildings, what is the policy on this. Can the Council put CPO orders on buildings left derelict?"

REPLY:

REPLY:

"In accordance with Section 3 of the Derelict Sites Act, l990 a derelict site is defined as:

Any land which detracts, or is likely to detract, to a material degree from the amenity, character or appearance of land in the neighbourhood of the land in question because of –

(a) the existence on the land in question of structures which are in a ruinous, derelict or dangerous condition, or

(b) the neglected, unsightly or objectionable condition of the land or any structures on the land in question or,

(c) the presence, deposit or collection on the land in question of any litter, rubbish, debris or waste, except where the presence, deposit or collection of such litter, rubbish, debris or waste results from the exercise of a right conferred by statute or by common law.

In order to eliminate/abate dereliction the Council has and continues to rely primarily on the following provisions of the Derelict Sites Act:-

A Section 11 Notice is served where in the opinion of a local authority it is necessary to do so, in  order to prevent land situated in their functional area from becoming or continuing to be a derelict site,

A notice under this section becomes effective after the expiration of fourteen days from the date of service of the notice, and 

A Section 8(2) Notice is served by the Local Authority on the owner and occupier (where they can be ascertained by reasonable enquiry) before making any entry on the register in relation to any land advising of their intention to make such entry.  The Local Authority provides opportunity, and shall consider any representations any owner or occupier may make in writing within such period as may be specified in the notice, and may either make the entry or not as they think proper having regard to such representations.

A Section 8(7) Notice is served by the Local Authority on the owner and occupier of a site where there is failure by the owner / occupier to respond to a Section 8 (2) Notice and where the owner / occupier has failed to take steps to render the site non-derelict. 

A Section 15 / Section 22 Notice is served by the Local Authority on the owner and occupier of a site where it is intended to compulsorily acquire a derelict site.

A Section 23 Notice is served by the Local Authority on the owner and occupier of a site in respect of a levy / charge on the site where a market value has been determined (in accordance with Section 22) and which stands entered on the register on the first day of January of that financial year, until the dereliction is rectified, advising that an entry has been made in the register.  An invoice for the levy is also included.

The Vesting process transfers title to the Local Authority whereby a notice is served by a Local Authority on the owner/occupier and advertised in the local newspapers.  The process ultimately concludes through the Property Registration Authority of Ireland.

Enforcement & Licencing Section issued 6 vesting orders in 2016 which are at various stages of processing by the Law Department.

Process:

The process for initiating procedure under the Derelict Sites Act is lengthy.

The Council's Enforcement and Licensing Section undertakes a number of standard checks when investigating derelict sites which come to our attention through representations from elected members, the general public and general observation. 

These checks include:

Planning Permission: Where a site, subject to investigation under the Act, has the benefit of planning permission, contact is made with the owner to establish his/her intentions in relation to the development of the site with a view to generating a positive response where action will be taken by the owner to commence development of the site so as to abate the dereliction.  

Planning Application: Where a site under investigation is the subject of a current planning application, the site will be monitored pending the decision of the Planning Authority and if / where a grant of planning permission issues, the owner of the site will be asked to confirm his intentions for the development of the site and to provide a timeframe for commencement of development. 

For Sale: Where a site under investigation is placed on the market for sale, close contact is maintained by the Council's Enforcement and Licensing staff with the Auctioneer/Agent so as to ensure accuracy/currency of information and to ensure that appropriate enforcement action is taken under the Act. In some cases, it is considered appropriate to refrain from enforcement action in the short term in order not to frustrate any potential sale.

Timeframes: Enforcement and Licensing is conscious that it can appear that undue time is allowed to elapse without enforcement action being taken. However, it should be noted that as a consequence of the timeframes prescribed in the Act, the process is generally protracted with provisions in the Act relating to the time that must be allowed to elapse before a Notice takes effect.  Time must be allowed for compliance with Notices,  time must be allowed for the making of representations, and time must be allowed by the local authority to give due consideration to any representations and be reasonable in all of its actions.

The Council also uses the provisions of Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act l964 and the office of the Environmental Health Officers under the Public Health (Ireland) Act l878.    Provisions of the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act l964 are used where it is considered that a risk to the public is found to exist in certain sites/properties. The Public Health (Ireland) Act 1878 is used when a Public Nuisance is found to exist on site.  Both of these acts also prescribe timeframes which must be adhered to and which in some cases prolong the investigation and enforcement process.

There are currently 17 sites on the Derelict Sites Register of which six (6) are in the Tallaght area. Two (2) of these six properties are currently in stages of the vesting process.