Four blocks of city flats to be knocked

DUBLIN CITY Council plans to demolish four blocks of flats in O’Devaney Gardens next month despite the collapse of its agreement with developer Bernard McNamara to rebuild the 1950s social housing complex.

City councillors will on Monday night be told the fate of the five public-private housing regeneration projects in the city which Mr McNamara had agreed to build under a public-private partnership (PPP) scheme with the council.

The projects at Infirmary Road, St Michael’s estate in Inchicore, Dominick Street, Seán McDermott Street and O’Devaney Gardens – all in Dublin – were to involve building some 1,800 new homes between them, with a total value of €900 million.

Residents from the flat complexes are to march to City Hall on Monday night. They will protest outside a meeting at which assistant city manager Ciarán McNamara will give details to councillors of proposals for the five projects.

The demolition of O’Devaney Gardens had been part of the contract agreed with Bernard McNamara, and the council had last year begun to detenant the flats in preparation. The council and the O’Devaney Gardens regeneration board had expected Mr McNamara to proceed with the planning stage last summer. However, this did not occur, and the four detenanted blocks began to attract criminal and anti-social behaviour, including drug dealing and fires.

The council decided that the blocks, which comprise 48 flats, should be demolished, and went out to tender for a separate contract for this demolition, with the agreement of the regeneration board and residents.

However, this agreement was reached before the collapse of the deal with Mr McNamara, and the intention had been that the demolition would be closely followed by the redevelopment.

Labour councillor and member of the regeneration board Emer Costello said residents were now concerned that the flats would be demolished but that nothing would be put in their place.

It is understood Ciarán McNamara intends to make recommendations to the councillors on how to deal with all five projects.

It is likely that, in some cases such as the complex in Dominick Street, the council will be in a position to approach the PPP underbidder if Mr McNamara agrees to step down.

However, other projects in which contracts had been completed with Mr McNamara, which include O’Devaney Gardens, will have to be resubmitted to public tender if Mr McNamara is not in a position to proceed.