Wicklow Sinn Féin TD John Brady has called on Wicklow County Council to use its powers under the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act 1964, to ensure that the former Anvils store on Bray Main Street is made safe. As in its current condition it is only a matter of time before sections of the building collapse, potentially causing death or serious injury to passers-by.
Brady previously expressed concern and remains in regular contact with Wicklow Council Council regarding the condition of the former Anvil store on Main Street Bray, which has been derelict for a number of years. Planning permission was previously granted in 2022 for fifteen apartments and commercial and retail space on the site. In May the developer submitted a commencement notice to Wicklow County Council (WCC), which should have allowed work to begin within two weeks, and led to the addressing of the safety concerns, but a number of technical problems led to further information being required, and this has added to delays.
Brady said:
“While the developer of the former Anvils store on Bray main street issued a commencement notice in May, we are now in July, and there has been zero progress to address the imminent safety concerns to date.
There is an immediate and very real public safety concern here. The building in its current state represents a danger to members of the public. The structure of the building is badly compromised and sections are in imminent danger of falling down. Added to this is the presence of asbestos in the roof. Which is badly damaged leading to asbestos falling down from the roof.
This is highly dangerous, utterly unacceptable, and needs to be addressed immediately by trained professionals.
I am in regular ongoing contact with Council officials, who have been working with the developer. The developer needs to be either forced to carry out the necessary works to make the building safe, which at this stage amounts to nothing less than the complete demolition of the premises, or the Council needs to act unilaterally.
This building is right on a public street, members of the public are walking under a façade on a daily basis that is ready to collapse on top of them. And while the developer has committed to carrying out works on the site, as they continue to wait the site continually deteriorates.
Three years ago, large sections of the facade on another premises, a three-storey building on Quinsboro road, just off the centre of Bray, collapsed. We were all very lucky that there was nobody killed or seriously injured at the time.
It is unlikely that Bray will be as lucky the next time round. Because if something is not done urgently, let there be no doubt, this building will collapse, and there is a real risk of death or serious injury occurring.
Wicklow County Council need to use their powers under the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act 1964 to make this building safe. Failure to act could result in the loss of life.