Home News Fury over Ballymun regeneration delay

Fury over Ballymun regeneration delay

Friday, 26 June 2009

TENSIONS are running high in Ballymun over news that residents waiting on relocation face another five years of living in dilapidated flats that have been overrun by lawless thugs. The situation has reached boiling point since Ballymun Regeneration Limited (BRL) revealed that the project would be delayed by an extra two years, leaving up to 500 families in limbo until 2014. Funding for the project has been cut to e45 million for 2009 from e80 million last year. Local resident Tanya O’Callaghan said she dreads the thought of spending five more years in her Sillogue Road flat. “I wouldn’t put a rat living in there,” she told Northside People. “All we want is a decent home that I feel secure in, but instead we are left in these flats that have been taken over by gangs. “These kids sometimes spend all day on the roof of the block collecting rocks. Then in the evening they’ll call the emergency services saying there’s a fire or something just to get them out so that they can throw all the rocks and missiles down on top of them.” Earlier this month a block on Sillogue Road was evacuated yet again as a result of arson. Marie Cooper of Shangan Community Forum said many people are “very, very bitter” that the project has been delayed. “It’s disgraceful that funding for this project has been cut,” she said. “I don’t understand why the council would spend so much money on providing heat and maintenance for the flats that are only really half full, at most. Sinn Fein representative Ray Corcoran claimed cuts to the project are disproportionate to the levels of cuts across all other departments. “Essentially available funding for the regeneration has been cut by 38 per cent,” he said. “That’s 20 per cent higher than the budgetary cuts made across the board. “All we’re being told at the moment is that all the contracts for this year will be honoured but who knows what will happen next year.” Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, recently visited Ballymun for a walkabout with three local TDs and BRL director Ciaran Murray. Members of the Ballymun Neighbourhood Council also used the opportunity to show Minister Gormley the reality of living in the Ballymun flats. “We felt it was important that he walked the stairwell and used the lifts to see the unacceptable conditions faced by residents each day in parts of Ballymun that are yet to be regenerated,” said a spokesperson for the council. “The Minister was made fully aware of the constant anti-social behaviour in the blocks, the intimidation, the vandalism and the drug dealing and he heard first hand the arguments in favour of increasing the regeneration budget this year.” Local TD Pat Carey (FF) said the meeting was “very positive” and he would continue to put pressure on the Department of Environment to ensure that all aspects of the project are moved forward. “I believe that BRL should be at the shovel ready stage in that they are ready to go in terms of planning when the money becomes available,” he told Northside People. Meanwhile, Ciaran Murray of BRL said it was inevitable that the project would spend more than the $45 million allocated to it for this year. “We’ve already drawn down $38 million,” he explained. “We are still determined that we will be able to maintain the project as planned as the city manager has confirmed that they will be able to provide us with temporary funding which will cover our extra spend this year. “It’s natural that with such a fraught job that there will be delays and issues in terms of funding and budgets. Mr Murray agreed with residents who argued that maintaining and heating entire blocks which are not fully occupied is not a good use of money. “I don’t disagree that it’s expensive to maintain the remaining units but unfortunately we have to cut our cloth to measure in terms of what money is available to us,” he said. “I would be delighted to look at the options but I have listened carefully to residents who are highly opposed to the idea of moving elsewhere on an interim basis as they just don’t want to move twice before they get their accommodation.”