Ballymun renewal produced ‘highly skewed’ housing mix

The 20-year regeneration of Ballymun has failed to create a socially diverse community and has left the suburb with a "highly skewed" housing tenure mix, according to a Dublin City Council report.

Almost 2,000 more houses could be built on council-owned land in Ballymun, but only 10 per cent of these should be used for social housing, the report prepared ahead a new development plan for the area has recommended.

When the regeneration of the high-rise suburb was planned in the late 1990s, 80 per cent of residents lived in social housing, almost all of which was rented from the council, with just 20 per cent living in their own homes. At the same time 13.9 of the Dublin population was in council housing , while the national figure was 9.7 per cent.

The initial focus of the regeneration programme was the demolition and redevelopment of the 1960s flats, but it also aimed to achieve social and economic regeneration. The introduction of private housing was seen as key to achieving this, with a planned tenure mix of 44 per cent social and 56 per cent private homes.

A review of tenure diversity in 2007 found there had been some change with 61 per cent renting from the council, 25 per cent owning their homes, and the remainder largely renting from private landlords, either with or without State support. To achieve the 44/56 per cent split, future social lettings in private apartments should be restricted, the review recommended.

The new report has found almost 56 per cent of households are in social housing, mostly council owned, but also in voluntary housing or renting from private landlords with State support. Owner occupancy has risen to just over 28 per cent, with private rented at 12.6 per cent.

Imbalanced market

“This indicates quite an imbalanced local housing market and creates additional pressures on the area in terms of increased demand for social support services and less disposable income to support and attract economic activity.”

However, while 5,621 new homes have been built, there remained scope for the construction of 2,000 more on sites in the town, which should be used to achieve more diverse tenure.

“There is a need to balance the conflicting demands for addressing the significant social imbalance that currently exists with the demand for new social housing . . .Vacant sites remain and the tenure mix remains highly skewed from that of the rest of the city.”

Only 10 per cent social housing should be permitted in any new scheme and 10 per cent should be the maximum proportion of social renters in any existing housing development.

Local Sinn Féin councillor Noeleen Reilly said she appreciated the need for tenure diversity but said the proposed limits were too strict.

“The tenure diversification strategy over the last 10 years didn’t work because no private housing was being built. We need to get as much housing as possible – social, private and affordable – built on the remaining land.”