Cork council is working on Glanmire homes idle for 18 years

Cork City Council cannot say when three Glanmire council homes, vacant for 18 years, will be occupied.

Last month, The Echo revealed that three properties in private housing estate Copper Valley Heights in Riverstown, built in the mid-2000s, had never been occupied.

The floors in the properties were not finished, as work was required to bring them up to a standard in order for them to be lived in.

The homes were originally under the ownership of Cork County Council, but after the city boundary extension in 2019, they should have been transferred to Cork City Council.

Last week, a spokesperson for Cork County Council said that the delay in transferring them was due to a legal dispute relating to a developer going out of business, and a charge on the property, but that they had put a measure in place to allow Cork City Council to use the homes even before the transfer.

They said that while work was ongoing to remove the charge and transfer the homes, in the interim, their legal team had put in place a licence agreement with the City Council that would allow them to take possession, refurbish and let the units.

When asked by The Echo for a timeline on when works would take place and the homes would be occupied, a city council spokesperson confirmed that the licence agreement was in place, said an assessment of works had been carried out, and that work on the full transfer was ongoing.

However, they were unable to provide the requested timelines.

The spokesperson said: “Cork City Council has entered into a licence agreement with Cork County Council to allow an assessment of works and to carry out these works on three properties.

“This assessment has been completed, and Cork City Council is finalising the legals with Cork County Council to allow a full transfer of the units to Cork City Councils ownership.

“It is envisaged that this will be completed shortly.”

Cork City Council did not respond to a follow-up request seeking clarity on anticipated timelines.