The residents of York Street in Dublin's south inner city may seek a preservation order on the buildings accommodating their flats. The move follows their rejection of a £30 million proposal from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland to redevelop their existing housing and accommodate them in a modern housing complex.
The draft proposal involving the demolition of the 250-yearold buildings was put to Dublin Corporation at the beginning of June. The RCSI had been working with tenants in an effort to get their agreement to the plan.
The RCSI, which wants to expand its facilities, had hoped to gain ownership of the York Street site to build educational facilities and accommodation for its students. A spokesman had said the college would enter into partnership with residents on the management of the new housing.
One side of York Street is already occupied by the RCSI. , which faces St Stephen's Green.
It recently acquired the Salvation Army hostel on the street in return for a building in nearby Longford Street.
A spokeswoman for the college, Ms June Reynolds, said the college was "disappointed" by the decision but respected the views of the residents.
"We will continue to explore ways of fulfilling our educational and recreational as well as our accommodation responsibilities," she said.
Mr Brendan Dowling, chairman of the York Street Residents' Association, told the RCSI of the residents' rejection at a meeting yesterday. He said the decision was overwhelming, following a meeting of residents at the Whitefriars Community Centre on Tuesday night.
Mr Brendan Kenny, principal officer at the housing section of Dublin Corporation, said his office had been interested in the proposal but the wishes of the residents were paramount.
"Those flats are in an unacceptable condition," he said. They were last refurbished in the 1950s, and Mr Kenny said there were plans for refurbishment in the near future.
"The signals I was getting was that the residents were quite positive about this proposal," he said. Under the draft plan the refurbishment might have proceeded more quickly than if carried out by the corporation, he added.
The residents' main objections were that they would have to live in higher concentration housing on a smaller space, and there was an element of distrust of the RCSI following disagreements about its building of the nearby car-park in 1998. The tenants also wished to remain tenants of Dublin Corporation.
