ONE OF Dublin’s most dilapidated flat complexes, which has suffered persistent sewage and mould problems, is to be redeveloped under plans to be submitted to the Department of the Environment this week.
Dolphin House in Dolphin’s Barn, which is among the largest local authority complexes in the State with some 400 flats, was designated for regeneration several years ago. However, the economic downturn set back the plans and Dublin City Council in 2010 said there was little prospect of regeneration in the short to medium term.
President of the Irish Human Rights Commission Dr Maurice Manning has consistently accused the State of breaching the UN convention on social rights by failing to provide adequate housing conditions for residents of the flats.
Tests carried out 18 months ago by Tobin Consulting Engineers on water which had come up through the plug holes of sinks and baths in the flats found levels of faecal coliforms consistent with those found in raw sewage. Other tests by NUI Maynooth’s biology department on mould samples from the flats found the presence of Aspergillus fumigatus, which can cause pulmonary disease in humans, most notably asthma and bronchitis.
Last year, president of the Circuit Court Mr Justice Matthew Deery awarded €15,000 against the council to a disabled resident of the flats because his accommodation was “unfit for human habitation”.
The council had breached its contractual duty of care under the Housing Act, Mr Justice Deery found.
The city council has worked to alleviate the problems in the 1950s complex over the last year but is now seeking sanction from the Department of the Environment for a major redevelopment project.
The work will see the buildings stripped back to the “skeleton”, the council said, the addition of an extra story and the construction of some new blocks on the 18.5 acre site. It said that in the current economic climate redevelopment was more likely to secure funding than complete demolition and rebuilding usually associated with regeneration projects.
The redevelopment will see the replacement of all sewage, drains, water and electricity services, the removal of some internal non-structural walls and adding balconies and elevators. The flats will be reconfigured to make large units. Typically floors of six flats would be knocked through to create four new flats.
The blocks currently stand in a U-shaped formation and new blocks would be built to enclose the complex and create internal courtyards, which would increase the security of the complex and reduce opportunities for anti-social behaviour. The orientation of the flats, which face away from the Grand Canal, would also be changed to make better use of the canal as an amenity.
Fergus Finlay, chairman of the regeneration board, said the community and the council had been working hard to improve conditions. “Dolphin as a community is committed to the principle of neighbourhood renewal and is not interested in a programme of widespread demolition and detenanting. Regeneration is a complex process that has to tackle physical, environmental, economic and social regeneration.”
The residents were now seeking “tangible evidence of progress” to show the trust they had placed in the council’s commitment to redevelopment was well placed, he said.
“Dolphin has faced many false dawns and is understandably sceptical of the reality of regeneration funding. The board would like to be able to demonstrate that there is a commitment from the highest Government level that will see the project through to completion.”
