The Glass Bottle Housing Action Group, the local group campaigning for one hundred percent social and affordable housing to be built on the Irish Glass Bottle (IGB) factory section of the Poolbeg Strategic Development Zone (SDZ), hosted a meeting of locals and local county councillors on November 16th to discuss the development of the site in advance of the formal launch of their own housing plan for the IGB area.
The group’s plan for the IGB site, that has been arrived at through the community engaging with architect Mark Price, seeks to ensure that the needs and concerns of locals are met in the planning and development of the site. It includes calls for mixed tenure housing, including social and affordable housing; adequate transport infrastructure and underground or off-site parking; the provision of a primary school; effective drainage to counter flooding, and planning the site so that it will be an integrated part of the village and its ethos.
Other issues discussed at the meeting included the idea of setting up a local management company to oversee the site similar to that set up for Temple Bar; the need to create a clause to ensure employment for local tradespeople in the building process; the provision of green spaces, and measures to ensure a low environmental impact on the neighbouring Irishtown nature reserve.
The IGB Housing Action Group’s plan comes shortly after the publication of a DCC update on the pre-consultation stage, a DCC planning stage that seeks to engage with local communities to ensure that their needs are met in designing the SDZ development.
Speaking to NewsFour, a spokesperson for the housing group broadly welcomed the DCC update report: “The IGB Action Group are pleased that many suggestions made by them in relation to the development of the site appear to been have taken on board in the pre-draft issued by DCC. We look forward to an ongoing partnership with stakeholders with our campaign striving for mixed tenure housing on the site. We would like to thank our TDs and councillors for advocating and supporting on behalf of the locals and we will certainly continue to be involved in the consultation process of the SDZ plan. We feel we have made great efforts towards helping to solve the current housing crisis and the next move lies within the hands of our elected representatives.”
The group will launch its plan for the IGB site on December 6th between 1.30 and 2.30pm at a special event at the Mansion House, Dawson Street. The IGB Housing Action group’s campaign and events can be followed via their Facebook page at: Facebook.com/IGBhousing
By Harry Bradley