There’s been a tenfold year-on-year increase in the number of sites entered onto Clare County Council’s Derelict Sites Register.
The local authority has identified 20 properties for Compulsory Purchase Order in order to “increase housing provision” in the first quarter of the year.
A total of 52 files were opened on derelict sites in Clare in the first three months of 2026.
By contrast, just six were commenced in the same period last year.
In the case of 32 properties, Clare County Council has issued a notice to the owner stating its intention to enter the site onto the Derelict Sites Register.
A further 20 have been entered onto the register which is up from two this time last year.
For 10 properties, the file has either been closed or the site has been removed from the register while for one, it’s been determined that measures are required to render the site non-derelict.
No compulsory purchase order, which is when a local authority can take a property without the owner’s consent, has been commenced so far this year but the council says it’s “moving ahead with the compulsory acquisition of derelict properties”.
In reference to those entered onto the register this year, it says “20 properties have been identified for this acquisition in order to increase housing provision by bringing properties back into use or encouraging owners to bring them to market”.
