Waterford is to receive €9,000,000 to revive 130 vacant or derelict residential and commercial buildings.
Speaking following the latest update on the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF), Waterford Fine Gael Senator John Cummins said: “1,224 long-term vacant properties around Ireland have now been chosen and approved under this scheme, including 130 in Waterford which will have a real impact across Waterford and Ireland as a whole.”
Senator Cummins continued: “Waterford City & County Council will be given funding to cover the purchase of the properties and any works required to make the properties more suitable for sale, like improving access, tidying up, opening to facilitate inspections, cleaning up title etc. They will then be offered for private sale to those who commit to bringing the property back into residential use. There are several grants now in place by the Government to help Waterford buyers do this, like the Vacant and Derelict Property Refurbishment Grant, the SEAI energy efficiency grants or the Repair and Leasing Scheme.”
Senator Cummins concluded: “Over the last number of years, this issue has been a huge priority of mine and we have made huge progress here in Waterford. We are the national leaders in the Repair & Lease Scheme. We have had good numbers of units delivered via the introduction of the commercial to residential exemption from planning which I brought through the Joint Oireachtas Committee; and the Buy and Renew Scheme is working well too. The increase in the vacant property refurbishment grant to €50,000 with a €20,000 top up where the property is derelict has made many projects viable and I want to see the momentum we have generated in Waterford replicated nationwide.”
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