The regeneration of Oliver Bond House – one of the largest, oldest and most dilapidated flat complexes in Dublin city – has been stopped by the Department of Housing, councillors and residents have been told.
Four years ago, Dublin City Council was approved by the department to begin designing new homes for tenants of the near-400-flat complex in the southwest inner city, by amalgamating smaller flats to make larger homes.
The 14 blocks of 391 flats between the river Liffey and the Liberties have been plagued with social and structural problems for decades, with residents enduring damp, mould and sewage problems, as well as frequent rat infestations. Tenants have also persistently complained of open drug dealing in the complex, which was built in 1936.
The council was to submit a planning application for the first phase of redevelopment in October. It was envisaged construction would start in 2028, with completion in 2030. However, tenants were told on Wednesday the department has withdrawn approval for the scheme.
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“We’re absolutely devastated. It’s like somebody in the community is after dying,” said Gayle Cullen-Doyle, who chairs the residents’ group and has lived in the flats for 45 years.
The residents had been working on the regeneration plans with the council for more than five years, she said. “We’ve put our heart and soul into it and to think that all that time is wasted now, and we have to go back and start all over again. It’s just devastating.”
She implored Minister for Housing James Browne to come and see the conditions of the flats. “Mushrooms growing on walls, leaks coming down … The Minister for Housing, ought to be ashamed of himself, he should be called the minister for depression, putting us all in this state here.”
Another long-term resident Carly Wosser said the community no longer believed the flats would ever be regenerated.
“We thought we were getting somewhere. It’s very disheartening. We have to fight to get it back up and running, we just don’t know where to start.”
Former chief justice Frank Clarke, who chairs the Oliver Bond Regeneration Forum, said the rejection of the project meant there would be larger numbers of studio and one-bedroom flats, which would be a regressive outcome for the community. “I personally think it’s the wrong decision,” he said. Clarke asked Browne two weeks ago to show flexibility in relation to the project. “Clearly my powers of persuasion aren’t what they used to be,” he said.
Oliver Bond House is one of a small number of flat complexes built in the 1930s by renowned city architect Herbert Simms. The complex, and others such as Pearse House and Markievicz House, cannot readily be demolished and rebuilt to modern living standards, due to their architectural and historic value.
The council instead planned a “deep retrofit” and amalgamation programme where existing flats, which do not meet size standards, would be combined to make a smaller number of larger homes. The number of flats would be reduced by about a third, but there would not be a commensurate reduction in bed spaces as duplication of kitchen or bathroom facilities in the amalgamated flats would not be required.
Concerns emerged over the amalgamation programme last year when the department withdrew sanction for the Pearse House project because of the reduction in the number of flats. Earlier this year, the department approved a scaled-down project involving the upgrade of the Pearse House flats without increasing their size.
Labour councillor Darragh Moriarty said this approach would not be suitable for Oliver Bond House as it would leave the complex with large numbers of single-person flats that were unsuitable for families.
“This is a devastating and cruel decision,” he said. “These flats are tiny and in horrendous condition. The residents have been promised a full regeneration and the Taoiseach himself has committed to that.
“This is disgusting and gut-wrenching, just because the Minister [for Housing] James Browne wants to maintain the optics of delivering more housing units. We will be working cross-party in the council to bring about a reversal of this decision.”
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Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin said it was an “appalling and unacceptable” decision.
“For the Minister to refuse this on the spurious grounds that it will lead to a reduction in units completely misunderstands the problem. The only way this flat complex can be brought up to legally required minimum standards is through deep retrofit and amalgamation. There is no other way,” he said.
“The consequence of this decision, if it stands, is that this complex will not see adequate refurbishment and regeneration for a very long time.”
In a statement the department said it “cannot support the significant reduction of homes” proposed at Oliver Bond, and has asked the council to bring forward new proposals to “provide for a deep retrofit of the existing flats and houses while ensuring that there is not a significant reduction in homes”.
