Vacant bungalows cleaned up after property owner responds

WORKS on cleaning up the site around two vacant bungalows on the OId Bawn Road in Tallaght have been carried out in recent weeks.

The properties at 10 and 11 Old Bawn Road have been vacant for several years. In 2020 they went up for auction together with a guide price of €575,000 and were purchased by a new owner.

However, they have lain idle ever since, leading several councillors to call for the houses to be brought under council ownership and back into housing stock.

As reported in The Echo last month, the council said it had served a notice on the new owner the previous October, instructing that they should undertake a number of works.

These works include placing hoarding at two metres high to protect the site and restrict access, tidy the site, cut back the shrubbery, clean the tarmac, and secure and paint the windows and doors.

“The timeframe for compliance with the terms of the notice expires on November 24, 2022,” said the council early last month.

The cottages viewed from the roadside

“If the owner fails to comply with the terms of the notice, all other options open to the council under the provisions of the [Derelict Sites] Act will be considered.”

However, in recent weeks it appears that cleaning works have taken place around the perimeter of the two vacant houses.

At a meeting of the Tallaght Area Committee in late November, the council confirmed that the property owner had responded to the notice that had been issued to them.

“A representative of the owner has made contact with the council and given an undertaking that the required works will be carried out,” stated the council.

“These works were due to commence on November 3. A review will be carried out after the expiry date of the S11 [Derelict Sites Act] Notice.”