The former fire station building in Fermoy, located on Connolly Street and derelict since 2003, should be demolished and the site sold off, according to Cllr Noel McCarthy.
In a motion to Fermoy Municipal Authority (FMA) this week, he called on the council to show leadership when it comes to derelict buildings.
Despite interest from Avondhu Blackwater a number of years back, who wanted to turn the building into a youth café, no buyer for the building has been found. While there has been interest over the years in the site, demolition and reconstruction costs to the tune of €250,000 have made finding a suitor to date impossible.
‘DOESN’T LOOK THE PART’
“People are saying it looks absolutely awful, the negative comments people have been making about this building is unbelievable. It’s been unoccupied for over 10 years and it’s getting worse,” said Cllr McCarthy. “Even lately, in our IBAL results for the town, it was brought up and it doesn’t look the part at all.”
Municipal District Officer, Pauline Moriarty said responsibility for this building rests with the Fire Department and that the Cork County Fire Service would carry out works to the outside of the building to render it non-derelict in the coming weeks. She added that there are no plans to demolish the building at this time. Cllr McCarthy described this as a ‘waste of money’.
“This work that will be carried out to make it look non-derelict is only a waste of money because in years to come we’ll have the same problem. We have private people out there with derelict buildings and when we either write to them or contact them to get their buildings under control, the first thing they’ll say to us is ‘Look, there’s a public building owned by Cork County Council and what are ye doing?’
“We must take responsibility for this site, we must show leadership.”
In response, Ms Moriarty said: “It’s not Fermoy Municipal Authority’s responsibility to demolish that building, it’s a matter for the property section I suppose to decide whether it should be demolished or not, in conjunction with the fire department. Obviously there’s costs involved with demolition, but I can revert back to see why demolition is not an option at this time.”
