Councillors support sale of derelict Chapelizod homes under new model
Dublin City Councillors have backed plans to support the sale of derelict Chapelizod homes under a new model.
At Wednesday’s South Central Area Committee meeting, councillors Ray Cunningham, Hazel de Nortuin, Lesley Byrne, and Ciaran O Meachair put forward a motion to support the sale of homes at Mulberry Cottages, with the caveat that buyers must commit to redeveloping them. With seven houses on the derelict sites register that have laid vacant for years, Cllr Cunningham said the only solution now is to sell them.
Having fallen into serious disrepair, the Council bought the homes at Mulberry Cottages some years ago. And although they initially planned to redevelop them as social housing, feasibility studies indicated this was not a viable option, with Cllr Cunningham stating if they’re not sold they’ll remain vacant for years to come or simply “fall down”.
Cllr Cunningham said there is one woman living in a privately owned home in the area, but she’s surrounded by dereliction with houses that are falling apart around her and “big holes in the roof”. “I spoke to the property department about these houses earlier this year and there are no plans to restore them,” he said.
Considering this, Cllr Cunningham stressed the importance of following the guidelines set out by the Urban Development Working Group and allow these houses to become homes. As there are “other projects in the city where the Council can deliver more homes quickly and for less money” it’s important to move on and give others a chance to develop the properties, said Cllr Cunningham.
This means that the cottages will be offered sequentially to the Land Development Agency, approved housing bodies, first-time buyers, and lastly, if all else fails, a developer on the open market. This plan aligns with previous agreements made relating to the National Planning Framework and Housing Growth Requirements.
Utilising a “waterfall” framework, the response from the Council manager Margaret Mooney stated the buyers will be given a timeframe in which to redevelop and if they fail to meet this they will lose a non-refundable deposit and the homes will be taken back by the Council for resale. Cllr Cunningham said this motion represents a shared commitment by councillors and the executive to agree to approve the sale to whoever the final buyer is. “With this motion we’re making a commitment to keep our side of the bargain, because we cannot continue to sit on these properties, we have a responsibility to make Mulberry Cottages a place where people can live again,” he said.
“As soon as we are buying a property we should ask ‘is the Council going to develop this or not,’ and if we’re not then we sell it,” Cllr Cunnginham stated. “With Mulberry Cottages we know the answer. We’ve owned them for years, we haven’t developed them, and we’re not going to develop them.”
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