New thinking for city council on Dublin flat complexes.
Dublin City Council says the day of the large council estate is gone forever and is considering a range of options for the management of its flat complexes.
Hardwicke Street flats in the north inner city is one of Dublin City Council's success stories. Thirteen and a half million euro has been spent on the regeneration of the complex. Residents now avail of a playground, sports facilities and a community centre which offers a range of services. Everyone living here has benefited, according to John Hogg from Hardwicke Street Flats Residents’ Association.
The future is very bright for everybody, both young and old.
Based on the Hardwicke Street success, Dublin City Council is considering changing the way it manages flat complexes. Transferring ownership of housing stock to private housing associations may be an option in the future.
Noeleen Finnegan is one Hardwicke Street resident who would like this proposal.
I’d love to buy it.
Other tenants are concerned that this may be a way for the council to abandon responsibilities to its tenants. Mick Rafferty who is a community activist in the north inner city does not believe that giving ownership is the way forward,
Is changing the nature of a tenancy an answer to the problems in this area?
Residents from local authority estates in Dublin are meeting tonight to discuss their reaction to the Dublin City Council plans for the future of flat complexes. They hope the next step will be to form a group which will begin negotiations with the council about their future.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 21 January 2004. The reporter is Orla O’Donnell.
