DUBLIN City Council is to go ahead with plans to refurbish an inner city flats complex that was evacuated over fire safety fears.
The local authority rehoused the residents of the 19th century Crampton Buildings in Temple Bar in February of last year after it admitted that the building breached fire safety regulations.
At the time, the council said many of the 30sqm bedrooms in the flats were
“inner rooms
?, accessible only through living rooms, and that this was in contravention of fire safety standards.
The residents of the flats are currently living in temporary council accommodation in Bridgefoot Street, York Street and Townsend Street.
At a recent meeting of the South East Area Committee, council officials announced that they intend to apply for Part 8 planning permission for a full refurbishment of the housing complex.
The refurbishment work, including planning and procurement, is expected to cost e2.9 million.
The council has commissioned Downey McConville Architects to design the refurbishment of the buildings, which were constructed in 1890 and are protected structures.
Colette Downey of the architects’ firm told the meeting that the works would involve knocking the walls of the small one-bedroom apartments and turning them into predominantly two-bedroom units.
“Our proposal is to make them bigger, brighter, warmer, more energy efficient, and quieter as there is a quite a lot of noise in the area,
? she said.
“They will be safer and more accessible, and we want to give them new bathrooms and kitchens.
?
The housing complex currently consists of 54 units and 52 of them are small, one-bedroom apartments. The newly refurbished complex will comprise 28 apartments – three one-bedroom apartments, 21 two-bedroom apartments, three three-bedroom apartments and one special needs apartment.
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Brendan McConville of Downey McConville believes that if councillors approve the Part 8 proposals, the council could commence work on site in August of this year and that residents would return to their new homes in June 2014.
The council acquired the upper two floors of the Crampton Buildings complex in 1998, but the ground floor, which is comprised mainly of restaurants, is owned by development company Treasury Holdings.
At the meeting Cllr Mannix Flynn (Ind) said that most of the residents who were re-housed last year are eager to move back into the complex when it is refurbished.
He called on the council to
“iron out
? a number of issues, such as access to the buildings from a courtyard on the ground floor and waste disposal by the restaurants.
“This housing unit is shared with very busy restaurants in a very busy area,
? he said.
“We are going to have to know how the restaurants downstairs are going to impact on the people who live in the area and who live in this particular block.
?
Tony Flynn, the South East Area Manager, said:
“We don’t fully own the courtyard. We haven’t fully determined the negotiations with the current owners at this particular point in time.
“We have proposals and we will be, without a doubt, incorporating waste management, including commercial and residential waste, within that plan,
? he added.
“We are going to address that, but at this point we are going to lodge the Part 8 for the refurbishment of Crampton Buildings and the accommodation.
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