New grant aims to boost Mayo town centres

A new grant to turn empty spaces above shops into homes aims to revitalise town centres and boost housing supply.

 The Vacant Above the Shop Grant will provide funding of up to €135,000 to support the conversion of vacant space above commercial premises into residential units, while retaining the commercial use at ground floor level. An expert advice grant with funding up to €5,000 towards professional advice on conversion of above the shop space will also be made available. Support is being increased for the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant where former commercial properties in their entirety are being converted into more than one residential unit.

Mayo Minister of State Alan DIllon has welcomed the new grant and stated that it can be a 'game changer.'

“These measures represent a practical and impactful step towards addressing housing supply challenges while breathing new life into our towns and villages.

“By focusing on vacant properties and unused space above shops, we are making better use of existing buildings. Fine Gael has introduced a number of measures to ensure vacant properties are being brought back into use. We can’t have any idle properties and this new ‘Above the shop Grant’ will make projects more financially viable for people to renovate.” A grant of up to €95,000 will be available where one unit is created, up to €115,000 will be available where two units are created and up to €135,000 will be available where three or more residential units are created above the shop," said Minister Dillon.

The Grant will be available for buildings in cities, towns and villages with vacant ‘above the shop’ space (vacant for two years), where the ground floor is remaining commercial. It is not required that the commercial ground floor of the premises be vacant.