Commercial plan to tackle housing in Limerick
A CALL HAS been made on the council executive to allow people to convert homes from residential to commercial use in Limerick without the need for planning permission.
In a bid to tackle the housing crisis, government has introduced measures which mean people seeking to change the use of some businesses into housing do not require planning permission.
It's designed to speed up the delivery of homes.
But at this month's full council meeting, Fine Gael's Liam Galvin said the opposite should also be the case.
He saw a resolution passed which asks that the council facilitates in situations where property owners have converted a property from commercial to residential without the need for permission, they will not need to secure planning permission to reverse this.
Councillor Galvin also called for a grant, or tax relief to be made available from the Department of Housing for people who are planning to convert a business premises into a home.
"We can convert commercial to residential now with the stroke of a Biro. Can the same be done if there is a need for commercial properties instead of residential," asked the Abbeyfeale man.
However, council official Laura Woods says the local authority has no powers to amend the legislation which covers this, and it would need the intervention of the Department of Housing.
The motion was then amended to have councillors wrote to Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien to enact legislation which would allow a residential to commercial conversion without planning permission. It was seconded by Cllr Galvin's party colleague, Cllr Stephen Keary.