Call to demolish Tuam’s Gilmartin Road — it costs too much to maintain

By TONY GALVIN A CALL has been made for the demolition of Gilmartin Road in Tuam as the cost of replacing, repairing and revamping the ageing and frequently vandalised local authority homes is a significant drain on council resources and the area does not merit any more money being spent on it. This was the reaction of Tuam Area Cllr Tom McHugh when the issue of vacant and vandalised council housing stock came up for debate at a meeting of Galway Co Council. In the case of Gilmartin Road, he said, there were at least 20 ruined houses there at any one time and it was time to accept that the road had no future and should be demolished.[private] He made his call when the cost of providing social housing came up for discussion at County Hall. Cllr McHugh asserted that many people applying for local authority housing were being too picky. He suggested that if an applicant turned down an offer or a number of offers, as was often the case, then they should go back to the end of the housing list. This, he argued, would give other applicants a chance to avail of council housing stock, and send out a clear message that tenants could not pick and choose at will. Director of Services for Housing Eugene Cummins said the council had at least 50 houses located in areas where they were very difficult to let. They were often in poor condition or had been vandalised and the authority had to consider whether it was worthwhile spending scarce resources on them to make them habitable. This was especially the case in areas to which people were refusing to move. â€Å“The cost of doing up some of these houses far exceeds their value,â€Â he explained, adding that some may be offered to the voluntary sector or put on the open market. Cllr Pete Roche said there were bizarre stories circulating that people were buying up good local authority houses for between €20,000 to €30,000 and he sought an assurance that homes that cost the council considerable amounts to build were not being disposed of at knock-down prices. Tom McHugh argued that the council was caught in a cycle that had to be broken. â€Å“We have people who are being offered housing but are declining it. This results in the house being left vacant, often for prolonged periods. This, in turn, attracts vandals and anti-social activity. Then when theyâ€â„¢ve finished with it people certainly wouldnâ€â„¢t be inclined to move in. We need to attract good tenants and do our best to ensure we have maximum occupancy of all our properties,â€Â he said. In the case of Gilmartin Road in Tuam, he argued that money had been wasted trying to maintain this area and it was now time for the Co Council to decide whether they could continue pouring good money after bad. Refurbishing vandalised houses and replacing some with entirely new homes had worked in some cases but overall the investment had not been a good one. It was time to accept the inevitable and demolish the road, as it was an eyesore. [/private]