The redevelopment of Ballymun prompted the launch of a course in neighbourhood planning aimed at directly involving women in the regeneration process.

Last year over 3,000 women used the services of the Ballymun Women's Resource Centre in the north Dublin suburb. The centre provides practical support to local women in the shape of creche facilities and an information service, but it is also active at a more fundamental level devising policies on training, employment and leadership for women in the community.

With a major redevelopment planned for the area over the next eight years, those active in the centre felt that women should be involved in the whole planning process. "From 1997 on there had been a lot of media speculation about Ballymun in general and the demolition of the flats in particular," says Kathleen Maher, co-ordinator of the neighbourhood planning course and manager of the centre.

"Not surprisingly local people were very upset by this on-off speculation because we didn't know what was happening and these were our homes that were being talked about in this way," she says. "We had women coming into the centre very concerned about what would happen to their homes and families if they knocked the flats down. There was also the whole issue of what would happen in the wider community with any replanning of the area.

"For example, what would happen to the shop vans that serve the area, where would the local school or church or health centre be if I have to move because my flat is being demolished ?"

Aware of growing concern about the future of Ballymun, the centre organised a workshop to coincide with International Women's' Day in 1997. Over 70 women attended and from this evolved the idea to provide a formal training course in neighbourhood planning.

The nine-month course is supported by FAS and funded under the EU's New Opportunities for Women (NOW) programme. Over 35 applications were received for the course and the selected group of 15 started studies last September. The aim is to provide those already active in their communities with a basic knowledge of the key issues in urban planning.

The students have a 35-hour week covering a range of subjects from computer skills and social policy to architecture, building technology, communications and personal development. The course has the backing of TCD and DCU who are providing support through supplying lecturers and mentors for the programme.

"The idea of the course is twofold," says Maher. "At the end of it we hope to have a group of women with the skills to be a valuable resource to the wider community. At a personal level, we hope the women will have developed a range of skills that will enable them to get jobs."

MARRIED with two young sons, Susan White has lived in Ballymun all her life. "I think it's very good that women like us will have a say in how Ballymun is developed," she says. "Because of the course we can talk to the architects and planners and understand what they're on about. We've been taught to understand their jargon and to make sense of things like planning applications and we have this knowledge and can pass it on to our neighbours and friends.

"I left school at 16 and I never thought I'd have the opportunity to do something like this. When the course is finished I hope to get a job doing something with computers."

Another student, Patricia Kelly, has also been closely involved with the housing task force and the overall regeneration project. "Women have created a place for themselves within the community here and they have developed a realistic sense of what's lacking and what's needed," she says.

"Women are very often the driving force within a community setting and they need to be listened to because of their ability to make a valuable contribution on all sorts of issues from first-hand experience. For example, this regeneration is not just about housing. We also need to address shopping facilities, educational and training needs and employment prospects for the area."

Catherine Lalor has lived in Ballymun for 23 years and has been involved in community activities since her children were small. "I was in the Resource Centre when I heard about the course and decided to put in a CV," she says. "I was delighted to be accepted. I'm enjoying the course a lot. Parts of it are hard going and we have quite a lot of work to do, but it's very good training. I feel I will be able to look at getting into the workforce when it's over."

Susan White says that she began the course without any knowledge of computers or social policy or architecture - "I wouldn't have known where to start on these things. But, since starting the course, I've become much more aware of what's going on around me and I've started taking an interest in what the Government is doing and what's happening on issues of health and social welfare."

Before starting the course, she wouldn't have felt able to give her views on topics under discussion, but the course has helped her to become more confident. "We've learnt how to talk to people such as architects and planners. We've met architects and planners working on the regeneration and, because we knew what we were talking about, we were able to make our points a lot better."

Co-ordinator Maher explains that the course was "conceived and designed at grassroots level and, as a result, it fits the needs of the women participating and of the community very well. We felt strongly that women needed to be involved in the consultation process in its broadest sense.

"This means giving them access not only to the planners but also equipping them with the skills to make an input into the broader social policy for the area. For example, looking at how we can work with other agencies operating in the area and support new emerging ones."

Contact: Ballymun Women's Resource Centre - phone (01) 842 1731.