In light of the claim by the Department of the Environment, reported in today’s Irish Independent that no council has demolished an estate in Ireland, above are photographs evidencing the demolition of one estate in County Westmeath reported here in the Mullingar Advertiser. But is it the only estate bulldozed by a council inIreland?
What: A partly-built housing estate with at least three bungalows seemingly complete
Where: Ballynagore (also referred to as Ballinagore) inCountyWestmeath – a village about 16 km south of Mullingar, illustrated on the map below with the red balloon
Who: The Westmeath County Council is the authority which bulldozed and levelled the site
When: The demolition work started in August 2011, and the photographs above show the site today, fenced off, with mounds of earth, presumably to prevent the site being used by Travellers
(click to enlarge)
NAMA Wine Lake 
From the Mullingar advertiser:
“but as there is confusion as to who exactly owns the development”
This seems a bit unlikely. Assuming there was debt involved in the development, I’d like to know why some lender wasn’t anxious to make some recoveries.
The Westmeath councillors should be forced to justify the economics of the taxpayer paying for social housing while at the same time they’re off flattening places.
Thanks for that post.
I think something similar was done in the US in 2007, but on a very small scale.
@NWL
I was not ware of this until I saw your article.
This is vandalism and economic madness and stupidity.
As you say, three bungalows virtually complete.
Value of three complete bungalows = Approx 360,000.
Cost to complete houses and fixup site= Approx 200,000.
Value added to State = Approx 160,000
Decision, ignore the value added.
Cost to bulldoze and clean up site = Approx 20,000
Value added foregone = Approx 180,000
Job foregone = Approx 5 jobs for one year.
Worse than stupidity. Deliberate economic vandalism.
@Joseph Ryan
What you are missing – prevailing asking prices for similar properties – 250,000, or 130,000 over likely sale price of these ones. Effect of 120,000 sales price on the local morket [sic]… well, we all have our suspicions over who stands to gain by a mad attempt to reduce supply.
I hear that Mr. Nero cleaned up with his caravans after his concert in Rome…
@Yoganmahew/ @Nwl
This item did not get the prominence it deserves. As far as I know it got no medai or RTE attention.
It is a major policy decision. A very wrong one in my view. Suppose it now becomes mainstream?
Is this ‘site’ in Mr Penrose’s constituency?
Serious questions need to be asked publicly here.
This is probably the US reference maybe Nama is “right sizing” the economy…
“Mayor Dave Bing has pledged to knock down 10,000 structures in his first term as part of a nascent plan to “right-size” Detroit, or reconfigure the city to reflect its shrinking population.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703950804575242433435338728.html