Tax waivers for unfinished estates in Galway fall from 50 to seven

By SIOBHÃÂN HOLLIMAN THERE is dismay and frustration locally at the new list of housing estates that will be exempt from the property tax. Last year more than 50 estates around Galway city and county werenâ€â„¢t liable for the controversial €100 Household Charge; there are now less than ten estates which qualify for a waiver of the LPT. None of the five residential estates in Tuam which were waivered the €100 last year are exempt from the Local Property Tax. There is only one estate in Tuam included in the LPT waiver list but it has emerged that most homeowners in that estate, Carrigweir on the Weir Road, will be forced to pay the tax as only a certain section of the development is included for the waiver. As reported in The Tuam Herald two weeks ago, local authorities, including Galway Co Council, were given new guidelines to draw up lists of properties for the Department of the Environment with regard to the new property tax. A spokesperson for the planning department of Galway Co Council told The Herald that they were asked to update their unfinished estates list and assess estates and properties with regard to the services available in each. The new criteria focused on whether an estate, or some of it, had the basic services in place such as vehicular access, footpaths, public lighting, sewerage and open space. In some instances houses in what are clearly unfinished estates in Tuam have been valued higher by Revenue than houses in estates in the town that have been completed for more than ten years. A number of residents in the Clochran estate in Kilcloghans on Tuamâ€â„¢s outskirts are shocked and annoyed that they are being asked to pay the new tax. The development was built by local Co Cllr Tom McHugh but it hasnâ€â„¢t been finished and there are a large number of houses unoccupied and partially finished. Some residents donâ€â„¢t have a tarred roadway accessing their property while many others look out on to mounds of excavated soil and building debris. One Clochran homeowner told The Herald that only one street/path light works along their stretch, which looks out on to the backs of a line of unfinished houses. Another pointed out that no improvement works have been carried out by the developer or the Council over the past year and people living there canâ€â„¢t understand how the estate was wiped off the waiver list. Residents in Clochran are also confused by a letter sent two weeks ago by Athenry Labour Senator Lorraine Higgins telling them that their house is in an unfinished estate and to be aware that a situation might occur where they could be asked to pay unpaid development fees. â€Å“One politician is telling us weâ€â„¢re in an unfinished estate yet according to the Council and Revenue weâ€â„¢re not because weâ€â„¢ve been told to pay property tax. Itâ€â„¢s confusing and unfair, especially when itâ€â„¢s almost impossible to sell a house. Who would buy in an estate that hasnâ€â„¢t been touched for years and is very different to the plans in the original brochure?â€Â remarked one resident to The Herald. Controversy erupted last year when the unfinished estate Carrigweir was omitted from the Household Charge exemption list yet other estates that appeared to be more finished didnâ€â„¢t have to pay. While Carrigweir is the only Tuam estate exempt from the LPT, the waiver doesnâ€â„¢t apply to all homes in the estate. This has also led to confusion as the waiver list doesnâ€â„¢t give a clear map indicating which houses are excluded. Another well-known unfinished estate in town, Vicarschoroland, which was excluded from the Household Charge, isnâ€â„¢t included in the LPT waiver scheme either. Five housing estates in Williamstown were excluded from the Household Charge last year and just one, Glynndale Court, is included in the property tax waiver. However itâ€â„¢s understood that no one lives in some of the previously listed estates in Williamstown. Fine Gael Deputy Paul Connaughton told The Herald that he has some concerns regarding the omission of certain residential estates. â€Å“If work has been carried out in the meantime to bring areas up to standard then houses should be eligible for the tax but I can understand the frustration of homeowners in estates where nothing has changed in the past year and they are now asked to pay the LPT,â€Â he said. Deputy Connaughton plans to raise the anomaly with the Environment Minister to query whether there will be an appeal system.