VACANT pubs will be transformed into housing as part of plans revealed by the Dept of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage.
Almost 100 pubs are set to be redeveloped nationally to create nearly 300 new homes. In Co Cork, eight pubs are being repurposed to serve as 21 homes as part of the initiative to tackle vacancy and increase housing supply.
Conversion plans are underway for more than 1,100 vacant commercial premises, which will redevelop them into more than 2,700 homes.
Planning exemptions introduced in 2018, removed the requirement for planning permission for the conversion of certain types of vacant commercial property into residential units. In 2022, the exemption was extended to allow vacant pubs to be converted into homes. In 2022 and 2023, 92 notifications relating to pubs were received by local authorities with the intention to create 295 new homes.
Overall, in 2023, local authorities received 39 notifications to convert pubs, which will create 136 homes.
‘Converting empty buildings into forever homes is a key component of Housing for All,’ said Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien. ‘These figures show that policies which have eased the planning burden for those who wish to convert unoccupied commercial premises, including pubs, into residential use are helping to increase supply, tackle vacancy and renew urban areas.
‘I’ve visited counties and got to see first-hand the impact of turning what was once a vacant pub into five or six new apartments. It makes sense to provide the exemptions and to make it easier for people to convert commercial buildings into high-quality homes.’
Minister O’Brien said that local authorities received 1,165 notifications to convert vacant commercial premises into new homes between 2018 and 2023. These notifications have the potential to result in 2,716 new homes across the country.
The redevelopment of pubs and commercial properties comes under Government initiatives including the Vacant Homes Offices, the Repair and Lease Scheme which provides property owners with a loan to restore a property in return for guaranteed rent by leasing the property out for social housing, and the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant which offers grants of up to €70,000 to turn a vacant property into a permanent home.
