The Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien has published figures showing a total of 24 notifications were received by Sligo County Council to change suitable commercial premises into homes  over the last 5 years ( 2018-23).

 If realised, these have the potential to result in 51 new homes across the county.

The planning exemptions, introduced by The Planning and Development Regulations 2018, and subsequently extended, remove the need for planning permission to convert certain types of vacant commercial properties into homes until the end of  next year (2025).  

Minister O’Brien says this is one of a suite of measures which has proved effective in encouraging potential homeowners to convert vacant commercial buildings to residential use to increase housing supply and drive the regeneration of our town centres.