Residents of six houses in a street on the edge of the proposed Spencer Dock scheme were offered £5,000 each by the developers during discussions last year, one of the residents told the Bord Pleanala hearing last night.
Ms Marie O'Reilly, who lives in one of the houses on Upper Mayor Street, said one of the businessmen involved in the scheme, Mr John Ronan, phoned residents to make the offer. Ms O'Reilly is the chairwoman of the North Port Dwellers Residents' Association, which opposes the development, apart from the national conference centre.
She said residents from the six houses met on February 22nd last year with the developers, including Mr Richard Barrett, Mr Harry Crosbie, Mr Ronan and Mr Killian O'Higgins from DTZ Sherry FitzGerald. Ms O'Reilly said Mr Crosbie told them he wished to purchase the six houses and stressed he was interested in all of them, not just one or two houses.
"We pointed out that we had no wish to sell our homes, to which Mr Crosbie replied that they would build around us."
Ms O'Reilly said Mr Crosbie then asked Mr Barrett to explain the red line around the planning application for the scheme, as they intended to submit it to Dublin Corporation the following week.
Three options were proposed to the residents, she said. They were: to agree to sell their houses at market value plus a lump sum and an option to buy an apartment at a discount price; to do nothing; or to consent to allow the houses to be included inside the red line. They were told this would not affect their rights.
The developers said a decision was needed within two days. The residents contacted the corporation because they did not understand the significance of the red line, she said. After contacting a solicitor, they told Mr O'Higgins they had decided not to be included in the scheme.
"Mr J. Ronan rang back to say we had received bad advice," she said. "On Thursday 25th Mr Ronan rang again and stressed the deadline. He offered a remuneration of £5,000. He was again told of our decision. He contacted another resident and made an offer of £5,000."
She said Mr Ronan rang a further time to suggest sending a letter to each resident outlining the proposal, a letter of acceptance plus a cheque, she added.
Mr O'Higgins called to number 1 Upper Mayor Street with the letter on the Thursday evening, she said. The resident refused the letter and a figure of £10,000 was mentioned. There has been no further contact between the residents and developers, she said.
"We have been asked to look on our homes as a business proposition," she said. "Contrary to what people think, New Wapping Street, Mayor Street and Abercorn Road are not part of some Jim Sheridan film set . . . To use the developers' own words, there is and has been since 1847 a `thriving and vibrant' community living in the area."
Another resident of Upper Mayor Street, Ms Minnie Masterson, said she was horrified by the proposed project, which would cast her house in shadow. "God made the skies and the sunlight and the daylight for all of us to see and I resent that that's going to be taken from me," she said.
Up to 20 residents attended yesterday's sitting of the Bord Pleanala hearing which was extended beyond normal office hours to accommodate them.