SOME 42 households are to be moved from their local authority homes in Dundrum, Dublin, so the site can be bulldozed and redeveloped, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has confirmed.
The tenants at Rosemount Court in Dundrum have waged a long campaign for the complete refurbishment of the flat complex. Their homes have no central heating, no fire escapes and provide, they say, “dangerous living conditions”.
The flat complex, which was built in 1970, is within walking distance of the Dundrum Town Centre shopping complex. Tenants were two years ago assured the site would be redeveloped but no start was made.
A spokeswoman for the council’s housing department confirmed yesterday that tenants would be written to in coming days and invited to move to alternative accommodation within the available housing stock.
“The council is continuing to pursue the redevelopment of the area with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government,” she said.
Acknowledging the delays in getting started on the project, she continued: “Having regard to the current condition of the dwellings at Rosemount Court, the difficulty of carrying out major refurbishments while people were still living there and the delay in obtaining approval to proceed, the council has been considering the possibility of de-tenanting for some time and has been reserving available units.
“So far the majority of the 42 tenants have expressed a willingness to transfer.”
Local Fine Gael TD George Lee, who has met tenants and heard their concerns, welcomed the move. “Rosemount Court was run-down and badly neglected, with its residents completely ignored,” Mr Lee added. “I am delighted at this news.”
