Minister for Housing James Browne is to meet residents of Oliver Bond House next week following the scrapping of regeneration plans for the dilapidated inner city flat complex.
Tenants of the complex of almost 400 flats in the southwest inner city were told on Wednesday that the Department of Housing had withdrawn approval for Dublin City Council’s redevelopment plans.
Residents said they were devastated by the news “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 council had 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.
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In 2023, the council secured approval from the department to appoint a design team for the first phase of the project, which involved the amalgamation of 74 old flats to create 46 new ones. However, on April 27th the department told the council it could no longer support “such a large reduction of homes during a housing crisis”.
The council’s head of housing, Mick Mulhern, on Thursday described the decision as “disappointing”.
The council has been “advancing the regeneration of Oliver Bond House over the last five years”, he said.
“The 46 proposed homes comprised of a mix of one, two and three-bedroom homes, all of which were designed to meet current spatial, thermal and accessibility standards. This decision is disappointing, in particular for the residents of Oliver Bond House who have actively supported the regeneration plans.”
The council was committed to working with the department to identify an “appropriate” regeneration scheme for the complex, he said in a note to councillors.
“Dublin City Council has met with the Oliver Bond Regeneration Forum to discuss next steps and is now actively assessing options for how best to proceed.”
Former chief justice Frank Clarke, who chairs the Oliver Bond Regeneration Forum, wrote to Browne in mid-April, before the department withdrew approval for the scheme, raising concerns about the lack of progress on the project and seeking a meeting. Browne has now agreed to meet the forum.
Oliver Bond House was built in 1936 and is one of a small number of older flat complexes in the city designed in the 1930s by renowned city architect Herbert Simms.
The 16 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.
The council was to submit a planning application for the first phase of redevelopment in October. It was envisaged that construction would start in 2028, with completion in 2030. The full redevelopment of the complex was expected to take 15 years.
A cross-party group of councillors has written to Taoiseach Micheál Martin, urging an “immediate reversal of the Government’s decision to refuse funding”.
A Department of Housing spokesman said the regeneration “is not stopped, the department has simply asked Dublin City Council to revise their plans. While completely committed to supporting regeneration projects, the department cannot stand over proposals submitted by Dublin City Council for projects that result in a significant loss of homes – in this case, 28 homes lost.”
He added: “The Minister has visited Oliver Bond House previously and is acutely aware of the need for work to be carried out. A meeting is being arranged for next week, with the Oliver Bond House Regeneration Forum, to discuss the current status of the project.”
