BREAKING: One of Kildare's best known buildings set to be bought for housing

Kildare County Council is investigating the possibility of acquiring one of the best known buildings in Naas town centre, which could be used to provide housing.

It’s interested in the former Leinster Leader premises at South Main Street, which for decades was the home of the newspaper carrying the same name as well as an extensive printing operation accommodating the newspaper, books, magazines, periodicals and leaflets.

It also had the contract to print the almost 200 year old Stubbs Gazette, the authoritative source of information about insolvencies and court actions affecting businesses and industries in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The premises is vacant as is the adjacent house, which once served as the residence for the owning company’s managing director.

Naas Printing, which up to recently was based at the premises, has recently moved.

It’s now located at the former Alo Donegan’s electrical goods retail shop just around the corner at Limerick Road and which itself closed just over six years ago.

It’s understood that the Leinster Leader building is still owned by at least some of the shareholders who sold a stable of regional newspapers, including the Leader, for €138.6m.

The deal was made in 2005 not long before the financial health of newspapers across the globe began to decline. The buyer was Johnston Press, which by the end of 2018, had debts exceeding £200m sterling.

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A Kildare County Council notice affixed to the building door is titled “compulsory acquisition of land” and states that KCC is considering acquiring the property through a compulsory purchase order. A KCC spokesperson said the purpose of the notice is to generate contact from the owners and it has not "commenced the formal compulsory purchase process for this property or the neighbouring property (the house)."

John McStay, a director of Clylim Properties Limited, which owns the property, told Kildare Now there is  no ongoing CPO process in relation to it.

He added: “But if the local authority wants to acquire the property, they have an immediate opportunity to do it, without the delay involved in a CPO. It’s an iconic Naas property,  recently vacant, and it will be offered for sale commencing this week via Jordan Auctioneers, with a public auction planned for Hotel Keadeen, Newbridge on November 24 , if it is not sold privately before that date.”