Council Recoups Zero From Vacant Site Levy Since Its 2017 Introduction

Clare County Council has not recouped a single penny from the vacant site levy since its introduction in 2017.

Just 14 properties in this county were on the Vacant Sites Register at the beginning of this year.

 

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Local authorities including Clare County Council are required to produce a list of lands in their area that are suitable for housing but have not been put forward for development.

A site can be added to the vacant sites register when the local authority decides that the property has been vacant for 12 months or more.

Sites that are included on this list are then subject to a levy, which has been 7 percent of the land’s value from 2019 onwards.

Figures received by Clare FM following a Freedom of Information request show no money has been received by the local authority here since the initiative’s introduction.

No sites were on the register in Clare at the beginning of the years 2016, 2017 or 2018.

However, nine properties were on the list as of January 1st, 2019.

This increased to 14 on the same date in 2020 – six each in the Shannon and Ennis municipal districts, with three in West Clare.

2021’s number saw a reduction of one less property in the Shannon area on the register.

A Council spokesperson has told Clare FM that no levies are due for collection ‘at this stage in the process’, though valuations on the properties have been obtained and notifications are to be issued to owners in the coming weeks.

They say the local authority will ‘continue to review’ the Register and take ‘appropriate action’ as required.

COUNCIL STATEMENT FOR WEB:

‘Clare County Council has 14 sites on the Vacant Sites Register and at this stage in the process no levies are due for collection. To date, valuations on these properties have been obtained and in the coming weeks notifications will be issued to the owners of the sites which may be subject to appeal. In the meantime the Council will continue to review and refresh the Vacant Sites Register and appropriate action will be taken as required.’