Community associations in the north docklands area of Dublin are to seek legal advice over their objection to the social housing provision in the Spencer Dock development.
The Dublin Docklands Development Authority has given the final go-ahead for the development by the consortium headed by Treasury Holdings which provides for 979 luxury apartments.
The social and affordable housing accounts for 21.5 per cent of the development which is just above the 20 per cent required in the Master Plan. A total of 106 apartments are allocated for social housing which tenants rent from a housing association .
The decision has been strongly criticised by Mr Gerry Fay, chairman of the North Wall Tenants Association and a member of the North Docklands Community Group.
Mr Fay said the development site was in two sections divided by a road and what would be a large office block. The social housing would be together on the smaller site and this would lead to segregation.
"This is not in the interest of the community. We are going back to segregated housing and the Sheriff Street legacy. This was the opportunity to move on," he said.
With the social housing isolated, it was likely the few other apartments in that part would not be sold in the private sector and so would be bought at a knock-down price by somebody like the Eastern Regional Health Authority, he said.
Mr Fay said the plan had been opposed by the community and representatives on the Docklands Council but that had been ignored.
The community would have liked social integration throughout the site. The argument that because of maintenance and services social housing had to be in one site altogether was just a cop out, he said.
"I regard the decision as an act of vandalism. We have got to move away from the building of urban slums. This will come back to haunt us," Mr Fay said.
The decision of the DDDA was final as there was no appeal in the planning process. "But we will take legal advice on it," he said.
The problem was that they were constrained as court cases would cost money. The communities were disenfranchised, he said.
Mr Tony Gregory TD, a member of the Docklands Council, opposed the plan. He said it would create an exclusive enclave and was not in the spirit of the master plan.