This article is from page 16 of the 2011-05-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
LOCAL authority housing tenants in Kilrush are not being forgotten about, the town council has claimed this week as it unveiled plans to have every council house in the West Clare capital fitted out with central heating.
And, as part of this new Kilrush Town Council blueprint, it’s envisaged that many houses that are boarded up and vacant will be refurbished and made available for families who are on the council housing list.
“This is a positive and good news story,” Kilrush Town Clerk John Corry said in outlining the authority housing plan of action. “Significant works are taking place and it is important to give an element of hope and assurance to people living in John Paul Estate that they’re not being forgotten about.
“Tenants have been paying rent and living in houses without central heating, but we are addressing that now and there is a lot of work taking place. The contract for refurbishing 11 houses in John Paul Estate has been signed.
“Those houses will be fitting out with central heating. We are doing a survey on the remaining houses without central heating and hope to be in a position to commence work on those houses in the third quarter or fourth quarter of this year. We are in the process of preparing tender documents on those remaining 21 houses, 20 of which are occupied,” he added. This refurbishment programme is also set to include an upgrading of council housing on Wilson’s Road, which have been vacant and boarded up for a number of years. “It has been suggested that they be brought back into housing stock,” re vealed Mr Corry. “We are planning to restore these houses to the housing list and contracts for the restoration of two of the houses have been awarded and three others are going to tender. “The remaining two will be surveyed by the end of the third or fourth quarter of the year, so the plan is to have all the houses refurbished and let to tenants on the housing list,” he added.