Residents in the Liberties area of Dublin 8 are "livid" after Dublin City Council appeared to scrap plans to transform a vacant site at Bridgefoot Street into a public park.
Locals had been campaigning for about 18 months to have the 2.5 acre site, owned by by the city council, turned into a park.
The council supported the idea initially and agreed to fund design consultation workshops with local residents, businesses and other interested parties.
The workshops were due to take place on May 4th and 11th.
However, the Bridgefoot Park campaigners were informed late last month that the workshops had been "postponed until further notice".
Now the campaigners are planning to hold a public meeting on Thomas Street on Wednesday evening to discuss their options.
“This came as a huge surprise to us,” said local People Before Profit councillor Tina McVeigh.
“The Liberties area is seriously lacking in green space and amenities, which we believe are vital to sustainable urban communities, good for the environment and essential for creating neighbourhoods that people can have quality of life in.
“We have been informed by the council that the land may now be considered for other uses and that the housing department are conducting a review of the site.”
Ms McVeigh said local residents, business owners and members of the public who currently use the site for garden allotments are very disappointed with the news.
“They are absolutely livid about this because across the board the expectation has been that this is a done deal.”
Site history
The site was formerly the location of a 1960s apartment complex that was pulled down in 2003.
A public-private partnership deal to use the site for 200 new apartments and a community centre fell through after the economic crash in 2008.
A community garden, complete with chickens, ended up occupying the area instead, but in recent years the idea of using the space as a public park has been mooted.
Dublin City Council has been contacted for comment, but has yet to reply.
