CONSTRUCTION of the first new 54 social homes at St Teresa's Gardens is due to finally get underway within weeks, it was revealed last week as a three-year strategic plan was launched at the site.
The Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Damien English, was at the former Southside flat complex in Dublin 8 where he launched the St Teresa’s Gardens Regeneration Board Strategic Plan 2018-2021.
St Teresa’s Gardens was initially designed in the 1930s but not constructed until the late 1940s and early 1950’. While the complex was a response to the pre-war housing needs of the population it wasn't designed to meet modern living standards.
There are now plans for a total of 1,100 homes to be constructed in apartment blocks up to 20 storeys high with half being social and affordable.
Commissioned in 2017, the three-year Strategic Plan outlines how the Regeneration Board and the staff team will work to ensure the progression of the regeneration project for St Teresa’s Gardens in a timely and positive manner.
The minister commended the work of the city council and the Regeneration Board.
“Regeneration goes beyond mere bricks and mortar,” he said. “In order to be successful and sustainable in the long term, a regeneration project requires the re-building of a community and a strengthening of community bonds, which is where social regeneration projects and community groups have an important role to play.”
Meanwhile, there have been calls for Dublin City council to CPO the former John Player factory on the South Circular Road.
Receivers are currently seeking buyers for the site, currently considered one of the most expensive in the city.
Last week, a meeting of Dublin City Council discussed a motion by Cllr Rebecca Moynihan calling on the council to CPO the land.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Cllr Moynihan said: “For over a decade now the Player Wills’ site on the South Circular Road has laid vacant. “This site has the potential to have over 500 social and affordable homes, but instead it lies vacant.
“This is valuable land in one of the most accessible parts of Dublin City centre and could provide many good and secure homes.
“Many people are rightly angry at the level of vacant properties when so many people are without a home and are priced out of the housing and rental market.”