How Tipperary’s Vacant Business Re-open Grant is
Using Data, Digital Innovation and AI to Revitalise
Commercial Property.
Across Ireland, the challenge of vacant and underutilised commercial properties continues to feature prominently in discussions around town-centre regeneration, economic resilience and sustainable development. For local authorities, developers, property owners and construction professionals alike, the question is no longer simply how to identify vacant premises, but how to transform them into viable, investment-ready business opportunities.
Tipperary County Council’s Vacant Business Re-open (VBR) Grant represents an innovative response to this challenge. More than a traditional grant scheme, the initiative combines financial support, relevant datasets, property intelligence, digital technology and artificial intelligence into a single platform designed to stimulate the reoccupation of vacant, and in some cases derelict commercial buildings throughout the county. By bringing together property data, planning information, grant supports and AI powered business development tools, the project demonstrates how local government can use digital transformation to accelerate town-centre renewal and unlock investment potential.
A Grant Scheme Designed Around Regeneration
The Vacant Business Re-open Grant was established to encourage businesses to occupy vacant commercial premises by providing significant rates-based financial assistance. The scheme supports premises that have been vacant for at least three months and can provide assistance equivalent to up to 100% of commercial rates, with additional supports available in certain circumstances, including businesses operating within designated town-centre zones or sectors that contribute to the night-time economy, tourism and creative industries. The scheme operates over a three-year period, allowing businesses to build resilience as they establish themselves.
From a regeneration perspective, the rationale is straightforward. Every vacant shopfront, office or commercial unit represents both a challenge and an opportunity. Empty buildings reduce footfall, discourage investment and diminish the attractiveness of town centres. Conversely, when these properties are reoccupied and refurbished, they generate employment, increase economic activity and contribute to the long-term vitality of towns and villages.
Turning Data into Opportunity
A recurring challenge for entrepreneurs and investors is the fragmented nature of information. A prospective business owner may need to search multiple websites and agencies to identify a property, calculate rates, assess planning considerations, understand grant eligibility and investigate available business supports.
The VBR platform addresses this challenge by integrating a diverse range of public and private datasets into a single online portal. Rather than simply displaying vacant properties, the system transforms raw information into actionable business intelligence.
The platform was developed around a simple principle: make it easier for people to move from considering a business idea to making an investment decision.
The Data Sources Powering the Platform
One of the most innovative elements of the project is its comprehensive use of integrated datasets.
Rather than creating a new property database from scratch, Tipperary County Council partnered with MyHome.ie, enabling commercial properties listed for sale or lease to automatically populate the platform. This provides users with live, market-facing property information while eliminating the need for duplicate data management.
The platform also incorporates information from Tailte Éireann, who provide a property registration system, property valuation service and national mapping and surveying infrastructure for the State, enabling users to better understand existing property uses, rates calculations (Annual Rate on Valuation, ARV) and associated commercial information.
Grant Eligibility and Zone Mapping
The platform incorporates VBR zone mapping, identifying whether a property is located within a Core Retail Area, Main Street, Town Centre, Urban Area, Village or Countywide eligibility zone. Based on location and business type, users can quickly determine the level of grant support potentially available.
Planning and Location Intelligence
Beyond property data, the platform integrates information that is critical when assessing business viability. This includes:
– Planning considerations
– Transport infrastructure
– Schools and educational facilities
– Parking availability
– Leisure amenities
– Retail services
– Community and local amenities
This location intelligence provides a more complete understanding of a property’s commercial potential and catchment area.
Business Support Data
The portal brings together information from national enterprise support programmes and business development resources, including supports available through enterprise agencies and government programmes. This ensures prospective business owners can identify financial, mentoring and development supports from the same platform where they discover suitable premises.
Franchise and Market Opportunity Data
Recognising that not every entrepreneur wishes to start from scratch, the platform also includes franchise opportunities relevant to the Tipperary market. By combining available commercial properties with franchise information, the system helps connect vacant premises with proven business models and established brands.
API Partnerships and Open Data
The project also leverages Places API technology alongside local government and departmental datasets, creating a wider data ecosystem that supports evidence-based decision-making for both investors and local authority staff.
Specialised AI Agents: Bringing Vacant Buildings to Life
While data integration is a major achievement, the platform’s most innovative feature is arguably its use of specialised AI agents. Vacant and derelict properties often suffer from a perception problem. Potential occupiers may struggle to visualise how an empty unit could be transformed into a thriving business. To overcome this obstacle, the platform uses AI-powered visualisation tools to generate concept imagery tailored to specific business categories.
An empty premises can be digitally reimagined as:
– A café or restaurant
– A retail store
– A tourism business
– A creative workspace
– Professional offices
– Health and wellbeing services
– Artisan or specialist retail operations
These visual outputs provide prospective occupiers with a realistic impression of the building’s future potential, helping move discussions from vacancy to opportunity.
For construction professionals, these visualisations can also act as early-stage design references that help communicate possibilities to clients, investors and stakeholders.
AI-Generated Business Brochures and Opportunity Reports
The platform extends AI functionality beyond visualisation. Custom AI agents have been developed to generate tailored business brochures, property prospectuses and business-planning supports based on individual premises and proposed business types. Rather than requiring users to compile large amounts of information manually, the system can assemble relevant property data, local supports and opportunity assessments into easily understood reports.
These AI-generated outputs help entrepreneurs evaluate opportunities more quickly while enabling property owners and regeneration stakeholders to present vacant premises in a more attractive and professional format.
What previously required significant manual research can now be produced in minutes, creating a valuable tool for investment attraction and property marketing.
Operational Benefits for Local Government
The platform has also transformed how Tipperary County Council supports economic development and regeneration activities. Previously, staff often dealt with enquiries across multiple departments and information sources. Today, the VBR platform serves as a centralised resource that combines property information, grants, rates calculations, business supports and AI-generated outputs into a single user experience. This reduces administrative burden while improving consistency and service quality.
Rather than responding to individual enquiries in isolation, Council staff can direct entrepreneurs and investors to a comprehensive digital ecosystem that supports informed decision-making from first enquiry through to business establishment.
Supporting the Reuse of Derelict Properties
The platform’s focus extends beyond vacancy to include underutilised and derelict commercial properties. Through enhanced grant supports, data-driven opportunity analysis and AI-enabled business-planning tools, the platform seeks to reduce the barriers associated with bringing more challenging buildings back into active use.
A Blueprint for Future Regeneration
Perhaps the most significant achievement of the VBR platform is its potential scalability.
The project demonstrates how local authorities can combine public sector datasets, private-sector information, grant supports and artificial intelligence to create practical solutions for place-based challenges. Because the platform is built around reusable datasets, automated property feeds and modular digital services, the underlying model could be replicated across other local authorities.
Conclusion
The Vacant Business Re-open Grant is far more than a rates support scheme. It represents a comprehensive digital regeneration platform that combines live property data, geospatial intelligence, planning information, business supports and specialised AI agents to transform vacant premises into compelling investment opportunities.
By integrating property listings, rates information, franchise opportunities, planning datasets, business supports and AI-generated visualisations into a single online system, Tipperary County Council has created a powerful model for revitalising town centres and encouraging investment in existing commercial buildings.
For developers, architects, surveyors, contractors and regeneration professionals, the initiative demonstrates how technology can accelerate the journey from vacant building to thriving business turning commercial vacancy from a challenge into an opportunity for economic growth and sustainable development across County Tipperary.
For further information visit www.tipperarycoco.vbrgrant.ie
