The decision to sell off 73 acres of public land at Kilcarbery/The Grange in Clondalkin to a private developer for 30% social housing was withdrawn by South Dublin County Council management for a month. The decision was made on foot of councillors requesting further time to get a deal which would see the site being developed by the council for social and affordable housing. People Before Profit and Solidarity councillors have been calling for a council led development on this site for 2 years, including producing figures for such a plan.
The plan proposed to the council would see 975 units, out of which 294 would be social. The rest would be sold by the private developer at market value. The site would benefit from LIHAF funding from the state for infrastructure and services.
People Before Profit Cllr Madeleine Johansson has been working with a campaign which held a protest outside a recent council meeting. The campaign includes women living in emergency accommodation as well as people on the housing waiting list.
Cllr Madeleine Johansson commented: “The deferral of the vote on the proposal gives us an extra month to go to the Minister for Housing and demand that funding is made available for a council led development on this site. It also gives us an extra month to build pressure on the other councillors to vote against the sell off of the land. We have seen People Power have an impact and changing the minds of some councillors already.”
“This plan is a terrible deal for the taxpayer, it’s a terrible deal for the 8 000 plus people on the social housing waiting list, it’s a terrible deal for the homeless families living in hotels and hubs and it’s a terrible deal for those who want to buy a home but can’t afford to. We have argued from the beginning that we need a council led development for social and affordable housing on this site, only a plan like that will give the public the best value out of the site.”
