Dublin City plan to move to Camden Yard offices has 'not been very democratic'
The behind-the-scenes purchase of Camden Yard and proposed plans to move Dublin City Council’s headquarters from Wood Quay has not represented “a very democratic way of doing things” according to one councillor.
Green Party Cllr Ray Cunningham spoke with Dublin Live about the Camden Yard deal, which signed purchase agreements without councillors being informed beforehand of the multi-million euro acquisition last January. The Ballyfermot-Drimnagh representative has highlighted the rapid pace with which the €90 million purchase proceeded and how both councillors and much of the public felt blindsided by a deal that has been criticised as lacking the transparency many would expect.
This is an issue that brings together some of the most urgent topics Dubliners face, as Cllr Cunningham highlighted how it relates to carbon emissions, environmental concerns, the housing crisis, archaeological heritage, as well as the debate around whether Dublin needs a democratically elected mayor . With a broad remit of concerns, Cllr Cunningham has been vocal on social media about his apprehension regarding Camden Yard and the potential move from Wood Quay.
Calls for transparency around the Camden Yard purchase saw councillors invited to attend workshops going through documentation relating to the purchase last March, which also included a carbon assessment overview of the project.
While the hard figures remain confidential, Cllr Cunningham claims this overview revealed the carbon cost of demolishing the existing offices at Wood Quay and building apartments there is over 60-70% higher than the carbon cost of renovating the offices.
This brings up an interesting debate, which Cllr Cunningham believes has not been properly discussed, as Chief Executive Richard Shakespeare’s justification behind the Camden Yard purchase was that retrofitting the current Wood Quay headquarters to meet climate standards was too expensive, with an estimated cost between €350m and €400m. However, if the original rationale behind the purchase was related to proper climate standards then Cllr Cunningham believes these carbon figures should surely give the Chief Executive pause for thought.
“The carbon cost isn’t really factored into anyone’s thinking. The Chief Executive and the staff at Wood Quay are looking at their financial budget and nobody here or in government is asking what value we put on carbon costs,” Cllr Cunningham said.
While the reuse of old buildings is a key component of the Dublin City Development Plan 2022 - 2028, the move to Camden Yard would likely see the Wood Quay Civic Offices demolished, despite only opening in 1986. This feeds into a whole other debate around the archaeological heritage of the site and whether it was ever appropriate to build on Wood Quay in the first place.
The current Dublin City Council offices sit at the site of one of the most historic Viking settlements in Europe, with archaeological findings dating back to 841 AD. The decision by the council (then Dublin Corporation) to build here was a controversial one as excavations had not been fully completed with important archaeological heritage being destroyed as a result of the construction of the Civic Offices.
The discovery of artefacts at Wood Quay sparked a contentious battle between developers and archaeologists in the 1970s and Cllr Cunningham believes protesters from that time would be outraged to think the offices could be demolished just a few decades later.
"If people had known it was only for 40 to 50 years, there would have been uproar. There was no way it would have gone ahead. It’s that kind of short-term thinking where we’re solving the immediate problems, where we are not thinking about the past of Wood Quay and we’re not really looking into the future."
These protests culminated with over 20,000 people coming out to voice their opposition to the destruction of the site and in 1979 Friends of Medieval Dublin led by Professor F.X. Martin staged a three-week long sit-in at Wood Quay that became known as ‘Operation Sitric.’
Beyond just the ethics of the demolition, there is still a question around what lay beneath Wood Quay as Cllr Cunningham described the original excavation as very much a “rushed job.” “If people had said, 'we're going to dig up the site and build offices, and then in 50 years' time, we're going take them all down again,' then there would have been uproar.”
While nobody would deny Dublin is in a desperate need for more housing , Cllr Cunningham also spoke about the potential to honour this heritage and utilise the space as a public amenity, such as a park or even a Viking museum.
“Maybe we complete the excavations that were never finished. Maybe we put a museum in here," Cunningham suggested. "But given the housing crisis we’re going through in Dublin, it’s hard to argue against apartments. 500 or 700 apartments in here would actually make a big difference to people.”
The important thing, Cllr Cunningham said, is that there’s room for public consultation regarding the future of Wood Quay and that people can have their views properly listened to and taken onboard before anything moves forward. It was the lack of consultation on Camden Yard that sparked outrage, with Cllr Cunningham stressing the need for a democratically elected person to be in the decision making chair for acquisitions like this.
The transparency concerns surrounding the Camden Yard purchase highlight a long-standing debate around the need for a democratically elected mayor of Dublin. With Chief Executive Shakespeare ultimately signing off on the decision to purchase Camden Yard, Cllr Cunningham took issue with the fact that he is a civil servant who has not been elected by the public.
Cllr Cunningham argued that the scale of this project, which he believes could eventually reach a €1 billion price tag when construction and relocation are finalised, requires a level of public accountability that the current system simply doesn't provide. While Dublin does have a Lord Mayor, this is a ceremonial position that does not have power when it comes to major financial decisions such as this.
While Cllr Cunningham accepts that major acquisitions often require private negotiations, he argues the lack of elected oversight in the initial plan weakens democratic accountability.
“The whole project is being led by a civil servant. It should be led by somebody who's elected by Dubliners. Somebody who Dubliners will get a chance to vote out after a few years or support their ideas and vote back in. There just isn't any democratic accountability. The only accountability is through central government. That's where all the decisions are made, ultimately,” Cllr Cunningham said.
Cllr Cunningham said it’s frustrating how little power local government has when compared to other countries around Europe. “If you look at the powers that are given to local councils, they're much less here than they are in other countries. It's a very undemocratic system from top to bottom, everything is centralised in the cabinet essentially,” he said.
“We tend to have a lot of say in small decisions. I can report a pothole. I can report a broken street light. I can talk about getting a bench in a park. But, this is a billion euro project.”
The most shocking thing about the Wood Quay situation, according to Cllr Cunningham, is that the protests in the 1970s are relatively recent history that plenty of Dubliners will remember well. “The idea that we’re going to take them down and start again - I think people just find that hard to swallow,” he said.
That’s not to mention the environmental concerns, which Cllr Cunningham believes are consistently “at the back of the agenda” for central government. He stated this is why more Green voices are needed in the Dáil and said environmental concerns are key to his party colleague Councillor Janet Horner’s bid in the upcoming Dublin Central by-election .
Regarding transparency concerns around the Camden Yard purchase, environmental factors, and the future of Wood Quay, a spokesperson from Dublin City Council stated:
"Dublin City Council has completed the 10‑week due‑diligence period and has signed a contract to acquire the Camden Yard site. This allows the Council to progress into the detailed design, planning and sequencing required to advance the project.
"The acquisition and subsequent development will be progressed through the Council’s established governance, financial and statutory approval processes, including ongoing engagement with Elected Members. Preparatory work does not pre‑empt future decisions and does not fetter the role of Elected Members in determining the direction of the project at the appropriate points.
"The accommodation strategy - including the environmental, operational and financial considerations involved - is being taken through those governance processes. Elected Members are being briefed on the technical assessments as part of that work, and further material will be made available as the project progresses through design, planning and member engagement.
"Regarding the future of the Wood Quay site, as outlined previously, relocating from Wood Quay could unlock the potential for more than 500 public homes. The future of the site will be considered as part of a broader urban regeneration opportunity. Options for the site will be developed with Elected Members through the Council’s established governance processes, and no decisions have been made at this stage.
"Any future development proposals at Camden Yard or Wood Quay will be subject to the relevant governance processes.
"We will continue to provide updates as key milestones are reached."
This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme