DUBLIN City Council has defended its strategy in developing the historic Liberties and the wider Dublin 8 area.
The council had come under fire recently from Fianna Fáil Seanad Group Leader, Senator Cathe-rine Ardagh, and other critics who claimed locals were growing frustrated with what they called the “over concentration of student and transient accommodation in the South Inner City”.
It emerged last month that planning permission had been lodged to develop 235 student bed spaces and 37 rent-to-build units at Sweeney’s Terrace, Dublin 8. This, critics say, has come despite the fact that permission has already been granted for over 2,000 student beds and 1,000 hotel rooms across the area.
The Crumlin based Senator and Dublin South Central General Election candidate recently raised the matter in Seanad Éireann.
“The South Inner City is undergoing a great deal of transformation and its vibrancy and inclusiveness has made it such a popular location for prospective homeowners,” Senator Ardagh said. “Permanent residents, many of whom are families that have been there decades, are therefore struggling to understand why such valuable space suitable for residential homes is primarily being used to erect mass amounts of student and transient accommodation.
Senator Ardagh added: “The council’s own strategy to appropriately develop the city explicitly states with regards to student units that ot would resist the overconcentration of such schemes in any one area, in the interests of achieving a sustainable mix of development.’
“Meanwhile, the council is taking one of the very last remaining green spaces in the inner city community from longstanding residents and young families.
“The council’s Parks Strategy 2017-2022 specifies its vision as ‘growing towards a greener and more liveable Dublin City.’ That will no longer be the case considering the provision of green space in the Liberties was already 'poor’ and it has now seized Weaver Square Gardens.”
A spokesperson for the local Tenters Residents’ Association, which is located in the Liberties, said they were “making a stand” against ongoing re-development of the area.
“We have witnessed the pulling down and rebuilding of the surrounding area over the course of the last decade,” a spokesperson said.
“And while we welcome and respect the need for redevelopment, we also recognise the lack of community consultation when decisions are being made by the relevant authorities.
“This lack of consultation is detrimental to our community. Our input should be welcomed and recognised by both planners and developers alike.”
However, Dublin City Council said they had been actively supporting allotments and community gardens in the area in recent years, with successful locations at South Earl Street, Braithwaite Street and Grattan Park among others.
“The allotments at Weaver Square have also been very successful,” the spokesperson said.
“From the start, allotments were seen as a way of making positive use of sites that were temporarily out of use. However, the situation with has changed and now much-needed housing projects are coming forward for development. This is the case with Weaver Square, which is now earmarked for 55 public housing units under the council’s rapid build programme.”
