Dire situation for family in 'unsaleable' Navan home

A Navan resident, who is desperate to sell her home in the Townspark estate, has been told it is 'unsaleable' because of the condition of the estate, six years after the approval of government funding of €13 million for refurbishment of the area. Olivia Guffroy, whose house is the only one in a block of four that isn't boarded up, says she is afraid to let her son out to play and is terrified of rodents in the empty gardens next door. The estate is full of vacant houses as the local authority is waiting to start the long-awaited refurbishmen scheme there. Ms Guffroy, who lives with her partner and two children in Townspark, said they bought the house in 2006. "At first, the estate was fine. It wasn't the fanciest, but it was okay, but then people started leaving and the council boarded up the houses," she said. "My house is in a row of four and all of them, except mine, is boarded up. The estate isn't looked after and the council don't seem to want to know," she claimed. "I'm afraid to let my son out to play. There is all sorts of rubbish in the alleyways and I'm afraid of rats because of the overgrown gardens. It is not safe for children." She said the family made up their minds to sell the house and move away, but cannot move as they have been told the house is unsaleable because of the condition of the estate. "The council tell me to wait until the refurbishment work is carried out, but nothing is happening. We cannot sell the house and people are leaving all the time and houses just left vacant," Ms Guffroy added. She said that people had been using the vacant gardens as dumps and she has even gone in and tidied up herself. Until a few months ago, there were also problems with youths gathering in the sheds of the vacant houses to drink and, in one case, a fire broke out in the garden next door, which terrified her son who was afraid to sleep in his own room for some time afterwards. "We don't want out children to grow up in this environment anymore, but we cannot move, because we cannot sell the house with so many proerties boarded up around us," she added. Cllr Joe Reilly said the people of Townspark had been living with these problems for years. "Their patience has been unbelievable," he added. He said he knew of Ms Guffroy's plight and could understand her annoyance and frustration that the refurbishment work hadn't gone ahead. Cllr Reilly said he believed work would start on the refurbishment in September. "Funds of €500,000 have been allocated for the first phase of the work and I believe this would not have been paid out if the government weren't prepared to provide the money to complete the project over the next few years," he said. Cllr Shane Cassells said he had met Ms Guffroy and he could only imagine her frustration. Cllr Cassells pointed out that the first meeting held by the council with the residents of Townsparks regarding proposals to refurbish the estate was in 2005. At the time, the project was approved for nearly €14m of government funding and he called for this money to be honoured now and for work to start before the end of this year. A Meath County Council spokesperson said the council intends to issue a letter of acceptance to the successful tenderer subject to the necessary requirements being met. It is envisaged that the contractor will be on-site at Townspark by the end of September.