Roncalli social housing scheme approved

Fingal county councillors have voted to proceed with a controversial social and affordable housing scheme at Roncalli Road in north Co Dublin.

The scheme, which was initially for 24 social and affordable homes, was the subject of more than 150 letters of opposition from local residents. At yesterday's meeting, a revised plan comprising 20 new homes was approved by a majority of the councillors.

The scheme became controversial after The Irish Times revealed that some residents had objected to it on grounds of nuisance and security, while one wrote that it would lead to "undesirables" in their midst.

At a tense meeting yesterday councillors for the area insisted that the majority of local residents opposed the development only on grounds of density and design.

About 25 people lobbied councillors on their way into the meeting, some pointing out that they could accept the development if the number and height of the homes was reduced. But most people wanted to see the elimination of all three-storey blocks.

Local councillors, including Ms Joan Maher, said that people living close to the scheme were not the ones who had been quoted in newspapers. She added that the locals had been painted as intolerant people by a "tiny minority" of letters taken from the planning file.

A majority of the councillors agreed to accept the development after the Fingal county manager, Mr Willie Soffe, read extracts from a number of letters, some of which had also been quoted in this newspaper.

Mr Soffe told the meeting that the council was willing to reduce the number of new homes from 24 to 20, but one three-storey block was to remain.

A proposal by Ms Maher to further reduce the number of new homes to 18 was rejected. Local area councillors Liam Creaven, Michael Joe Cosgrave and Leo Veradkar voted with Ms Maher.

Meanwhile, following assertions from Mr Garreth Buckley, of the Roncalli and Pacelli Residents' Action Group, that the area was actually part of Kilbarrack, Fingal County Council has insisted that the address is Sutton.

A spokeswoman for An Post said that no part of Kilbarrack was in the Dublin 13 postal district. However, she added that being Dublin 13 did not automatically mean the area was Sutton. She pointed out that the main postal office in the area was the one at Baldoyle.