A HOUSING blackspot at the main gateway to Tralee, Co Kerry, is undergoing a multimillion-euro regeneration.
The project involves the development of allotments and community services, the creation of an entire new street and “a change in the image of the area”, Tralee Town Council said yesterday.
The knocking of almost 70 houses, some of which have been derelict for years, in this first phase of the Boherbee and Mitchel’s Crescent regeneration will take about 12 weeks, Tralee Town Council said yesterday at the signing of the €600,000 contract for demolition work on the N22 entrance to the town centre.
Work will begin next week on the regeneration project, the total cost of which is estimated at €75 million. In the past two years over 40 families from the Mitchel’s Crescent area have now been relocated, some permanently, to pave the way for the demolition.
The number of houses is to be reduced in the area, while facilities are being increased.
Other elements under way include 42 apartments specifically designed for the elderly which the council said it was confident of completing.
“The demolition is a crucial part of the Mitchel’s-Boherbee Com- munity Regeneration Project as it makes way for the development of a new street which will change the image of the area,” a council spokesman said.
An integrated services building on the site will allow for greater co-ordination of services, including training courses and enterprise space for use by people within the immediate area and the wider community of Tralee.
There had been widespread consultation with Travellers’ groups and other residents’ organisations, the spokesman said.
The next phase will see the development of the integrated services building and the development of 50 community allotments.