Wexford apartment plan to finally bring an end to a 25-year saga

The properties which have blighted Bride Street for over a quarter of a century have been consistently raised by Cllr Davy Hynes for a quarter of a century now.

While two years ago, he thought an end was in sight with the demolition of the houses, there was to be a further hold-up.

At the most recent meeting of the Wexford Borough District, Acting Director of Services Shay Howell said that costings had been received from the quantity surveyor for the three apartments (2 two-bed and one single bedroom) and a funding application had been lodged.

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Having seen false dawns before, Cllr Hynes asked if there was a timeline for when the replacement building might be in place.

“I don’t suppose they’ll be built before the election?” he asked, tongue firmly in cheek.

Mr Howell replied: “I’m afraid not! This has been a real epic. The archaeology report has been a pain, or very interesting as some might say. But I’m happy that the three apartments can move forward now and it’s a great project for the town.”

Speaking afterwards, Cllr Hynes noted that he had been elected to the council in 1997 and they had set the wheels in motion to do something about Bride Street around the year 2000. He said the inaction was not the result of a lack of will from elected representatives.

Yet again, he expressed some frustrations.

"If this had been done years ago, it would have been a fraction of the cost," he said. “This is a problem we’re facing again and again on derelict properties. If we could cut through the bullshit and the red tape, we might actually get somewhere.”

Having said that, Cllr Hynes was feeling hopeful that this might finally be the conclusion of one of the longest-running sagas before the council.

"I've lost count of how many times I’ve raised this over the years,” he said. “I would be confident that we’ll see some movement on it now in the coming months though. Hopefully we’ll see significant progress by the end of the year.”