In the scenic village of Ashford, Co Wicklow, an incomplete housing development has sat untouched for 10 years.
The site, known as Mount Usher View, is an “eyesore”, according to locals – with smashed windows, dumping and overgrown bushes visible along the row of homes that are encased by hoarding towards the end of Main Street.
While the houses at the front of the development appear mostly complete, those at the back are without windows and doors and were never rendered. Some of the properties’ back doors have been boarded up with steel shutters, with evidence of damage to roofs, further dumping and smashed windows.
Wicklow County Council said it issued a notice under section 8(2) of the Derelict Sites Act, 1980 to the owners of Mount Usher View last month, informing them of the local authority’s intention to enter it on the Derelict Sites Register.
RM Block
The register is used to force owners to repair properties, with potential annual levies of 7 per cent of market value and compulsory acquisition if not improved.
The council has also issued a dangerous structures notice in accordance with the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1964, which mandates owners to secure or demolish structures that threaten public safety.
Planning permission was granted in 2009 to Chieftain Construction Ltd for the demolition of existing site structures and the construction of a new mixed-use development consisting of 24 units (a combination of three- and four-bedroom terraced and semidetached homes) and office or retail space.
However, work stopped in 2016 after it was found to be in noncompliance with the planning. An extension to the duration of that permission had been granted until August 2019.
In the intervening years since work halted, the site has changed hands among different developers. Various planning permissions for retention and completion of the development have come before the council and what was then An Bord Pleanála, now An Coimisiún Pleanála.
The planning authority granted permission to Vartry Developments Limited in 2024 to retain and complete the residential and retail development.
Developer Greg Kavanagh of Vartry Developments says he sold the site to Niall Molloy, listed as a company director of Beakontech Limited.
Beakontech Limited said that following a restructuring, it took ownership of the development.
“Beakontech has not been involved in the development of the site to date but is undertaking a survey of the property and liaising with the senior lender on the site to explore all the options,” a spokesman for Beakontech said recently.
Konrad Jay, owner of the nearby Mount Usher Gardens, which attracts about 40,000 visitors annually, said: “It’s an eyesore and an indictment on the planning system more than anything else.
“It has had multiple owners, multiple planning permissions, all sorts of things have been turned down both from Wicklow County Council and An Bord Pleanála and then revisited by the next owners, who inevitably put in planning for something else, and then that’s been turned down and goes back to An Bord Pleanála,” he said.
“We want to see sensible and good development in the village because, ultimately, it helps us, but at the same time we want to see well-built, sustainable, environmentally sound development all around us.”
Local resident Sheila Clarke says the community’s “hearts are broken” having to live alongside the incomplete development.
“Everybody has to pass by it, whether you’re going to the shops, school, butcher or garage and it is getting worse, with glass broken. It’s desperate,” she said.
“It’s very distressful, embarrassing and upsetting to see it derelict for so long. Mount Usher [Gardens] is our pride and joy. People come to see it and they have to pass by it.
“I cringe with embarrassment. We’re helpless to the bureaucrats that are making the decisions. They are making the decisions but we are the ones living with the consequences ... It is an indictment on people who are supposed to be in charge of planning and development.”
Wicklow county councillor Gail Dunne said residents and local businesses are anxious for the development to be completed.
“This is not going on a week or two, this has been going on for 10 years,” the Fianna Fáil councillor said.
“Ashford is a beautiful village, the community is great. The whole of Ashford can’t wait for something to be done. It is a gorgeous place. It’s a pity to see this.
“It looks like there are attempts being made to do something with it, so I’m happy with that. I’m happy to see there is some movement there and hopefully it will be finished to a good standard. The council wants it done and finished.”
