DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL LOOKS FOR NEW OPTIONS TO FUND REGENERATION PROJECTS FOLLOWING ANNOUNCEMENT THAT McNAMARA CONSTRUCTION ARE NOT TO PROCEED WITH
PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
Dublin City Council confirmed today that the Public Private Partnership, which it had with Castlethorn/McNamara in St Michael's Estate and O'Devaney Gardens, and with McNamaras on Dominic Street, Convent Lands in Sean McDermott Street, and Infirmary Road to regenerate these five areas will not now go ahead as planned.
The current economic climate and the substantial changes that have taken place in the residential housing sector recently, have rendered these projects unviable, from the private partner’s perspective, as the PPP concept was partly based on the sale of private units to fund the cost of new social and affordable units being provided free to Dublin City Council. Dublin City Council’s priority now is its tenants and the City Council will explore its options for regenerating these areas and providing the social and affordable housing for its tenants.
“Our priority is our tenants and to find a new solution that will allow us continue with the much needed regeneration of these five areas” says Ciaran McNamara, Assistant City Manager. “We will be meeting immediately with the three Regeneration Boards involved in St Michael’s Estate, O’Devaney Gardens and Dominic Street to explore all options and put an alternative plan in place that will deliver the social housing we need in these areas. It is possible that the City Council could invite Tenders to develop Phase 1 of St Michael’s Estate immediately, where we already have planning permission for 138 new social homes. We already plan to put a proposal to the July meeting of Dublin City Council to demolish four vacant blocks in O’Devaney Gardens and if approved, we will go to Tender to get them demolished.”
The Infirmary Road project is a Government initiative in relation to the provision of affordable housing and a decision has to be made about when is the most appropriate time to go back to the market and seek another provider. DCC will now look at the development of Convent Lands in Sean McDermott St in the context of the development of other City Council lands in the area. Dominick Street will be examined with a view to developing the most appropriate option in this case.
“The regeneration of these five areas is very important to the City Council and we will be using our best endeavours to see how best it can be achieved”, says Ciaran McNamara. “While this is a setback we could do without, the City Council is confident we will be still able to provide high quality social and affordable housing, possibly over a longer time span.”
Public Private Partnerships (PPP’s) were adopted by Dublin City Council as an economically efficient way of modernising its public housing stock during the recent buoyant years. The Partnership process was based upon Dublin City Council developing its land bank using the private partner’s finance, arising from the sale of the remaining apartments to the general public, and their development expertise to deliver high quality, mixed-tenure, sustainable neighbourhoods.