Council seeks contractor for apartment block demolition
Áras an Chontae, Roscommon Town.
Roscommon County Council was seeking a contractor to demolish an apartment block in Boyle.
The block contained six apartments, three on the ground floor, and three on the 1st floor. The apartments are all vacant as the building is a dangerous structure, the council said.
The local authority published an advertisement on etenders.ie seeking bids to demolish an apartment building and carry out remedial works to a 69 metre retaining wall at Quarry Lane, Boyle. The deadline for submissions for this contract, valued at €200,000 excluding VAT, was Friday, August 14th.
According to a survey carried out on behalf of the council in January 2025, the works would see the “demolition and removal of the ‘Block B’ apartments building and is likely to involve the use of a digger with detachable bucket, ‘concrete cutters’ and / or ‘multipurpose grapple’”.
“The dynamic loading of the plant could cause vibration in the wall which could induce failure, particularly in the areas which have already cracked,” the survey continued. The survey noted severe, vertical and stepped cracking on the northern, eastern and western faces of the wall.
“These cracks are structural in nature and have potentially serious consequences for the overall structural integrity of the wall.”
When contacted, the council confirmed that it proposed to demolish the two-storey apartment block, which is approximately 427 square metres, and undertake remedial works to an existing retaining wall “as the structure has been deemed a dangerous structure”.
“Under the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act 1964, where it is necessary in the interests of public safety, a local authority may carry out works, including the demolition of all or part of a structure, to prevent it from continuing to pose a danger,” the council said in a statement.
The council has issued Section 3 Notices under the act to the owners of the apartments comprising Block B of the Riverview Apartments.
“The notices advise that the structure has been identified as a dangerous structure and requires demolition, with the site subsequently to be made safe,” the statement continued. “Following engagement with the owners, Roscommon County Council appointed an engineering consultant to prepare a demolition plan and tender documentation for the required works.”
The council also confirmed that under this act planning permission for the works was not required.
