Council unveils grants to tackle vacant offices

Council unveils grants to tackle vacant offices

By Eoin English

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

A new building grant and commercial rates waiver scheme has been unveiled in Cork City in a bid to tackle the problem of office vacancy.

The pilot project is targeted at the owners of protected structures and is designed to incentivise them to invest in their buildings and rent them out.

Successful applicants could get a grant of up to 15,000 for building works, and benefit from a 50% waiver in their rates in year one, with a sliding waiver scale applied for a further two years.

And if refurbishment is undertaken which requires planning permission, the owners will not have to pay development contributions.

City manager Tim Lucey said the initiative is the first of a series of measures his officials are working on in a bid to stimulate economic development in the city centre.

"There will be more. They are small steps but all with one thing in mind to try and create the right environment for jobs," he said.

Details of the 45,0000 scheme were unveiled this week.

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Council unveils grants to tackle vacant offices