Cork City Council collected nearly €500k in past three months from derelict sites levies
The City Council is in the process of adding 36 more properties to the derelict sites register brining it well past the 100 mark
Cork City Council significantly increased the amount of levies it collected from derelicts sites between June and September of this year.
From a total of €1,748,390 levied so far this year the City Council took in €476,766 in the past three months alone.
By comparison, the City Council only collected €51,800 in the second quarter of this year.
According to the most up-to-date data released in the Council Executive’s report, six derelict sites are currently undergoing compulsory acquisition. There are a total of 86 sites on the derelict sites register, with a further 36 in the process of being placed on the register.
Nine sites were removed from the dereliction list - six had their dereliction status removed - and three sites were “resolved informally”.
As of the end of June, 2021 the City Council housing stock for rental purposes stood at 10,534 properties.
Ann Doherty, the chief executive of Cork City Council, in her comments to the Joint Policing Committee said there was a number of policies and objectives coming together which will make “the city more vibrant”. She also outlined plans to develop a city centre strategy which “will be very helpful in tackling dereliction and vacancy.”
The chief executive also called for Cork to be considered for a supervised injection centre, saying that such a facility would help support people with addictions. Her comments were echoed by the Lord Mayor, Cllr Colm Kelleher.
On parking fines, St Patrick's Street continues to be city’s most ticketed street for parking offences.
A total of 26,231 parking tickets were issued from September 2020 to August 2021, down from 30,613 for the same time period from the year before
Nearly 10% of all parking fines - or 2,456 tickets - were issued on the city’s main thoroughfare.
South Mall was in second place accounting for 1,397 or 5.3% of all tickets issued. Once again failure to display a valid disc was by far and away the predominant offence: 11,338 or 43% of all tickets were issued for this reason.
Only 57 tickets were issued for vehicles parked on or obstructing a cycle track. Parking on a footway (read footpath) accounted for 1,287 or nearly 5% of all tickets issued.
Finally, on litter fines the city council has issued a lot more fines this year - 133 in May this year versus 0 in in May 2020. Roughly half or 72 of those fines issued in May were paid.
The council also won all five litter cases that went to court in June 2021 but no information was provided as to costs.
In other news Cork City Council’s new Trees Officer has finally been announced: he is Thomas Kane and he previously worked with Fingal County Council in Dublin.