Planning and Community Gain

Mountbrook, who unveiled their plans for the development of Jurys/Berkeley Court on Thursday 30th August and lodged the planning application with Dublin City Council on Friday 31st August, has promised a substantial package of social and community gain initiatives for the local area.

Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre
The provision of a new community centre on the site of the existing centre on Thorncastle Street is a major community gain for the locals. The detailed proposals for this exciting new facility have been developed with the support of the board of the community centre, who confirmed,

“We appreciate that Mountbrook is offering to undertake the re-development of the community centre as a tangible community gain arising from the re-development of the Jurys/Berkeley Court site. We consider this to be a unique initiative and are pleased that Mountbrook is not seeking to acquire any interest in our site”.

The centre will comprise the following accommodation in a striking modern design: sports hall, a crèche for 100 children, daycare centre, youth clubs, administration offices, changing rooms, computer training rooms, offices for health and other services.

The ownership of the facility will rest with the trustees; Mountbrook will have no ownership of the site or building when completed.

Creche
The proposed redevelopment of Jurys/Berkeley Court includes a crèche for 150 children. Following on from Mountbrook’s investigation of subsidised child care in Europe, Mountbrook is undertaking to provide a minimum of 30 places at a subsidised rate. The rate for low income households will be a maximum of €1 per hour. It is hoped by providing 30 places that in fact up to 100 households could be accommodated on a weekly basis considering that most young children would not be cared for in a crèche for a full day. The crèche will be a seven day facility.

Culture
The cultural element of the Jurys/Berkeley Court planning application includes public art spaces, cinema, artist-run galleries for commissioning and sale of art, subsidised studio spaces to support emerging artists in the making of art, Irish Centre for Contemporary Art, Centre for European Culture, theatre, jazz venue, fitness centre and specialist bookshops totalling some 60,000 sq ft.

In a unique development, Mountbrook will provide subsidised galleries for emerging artists to work in. Artists will be afforded the opportunity of creating and making art and allowed to sell it on site. Artists will be subsidised for up to two years and thereafter hopefully will be able to afford to rent and set up their own studios. By creating a turnover of artists, Mountbrook hope that all budding and emerging artists in Ireland will now have the opportunity of advancing their careers. The subsidy for the culture centre is likely to run to in excess of €3.3 million over a 10 year period.

Lansdowne Road
Mountbrook has undertaken to provide a complete re-landscaping of Lansdowne Road in accordance with Dublin City Council requirements. This will involve hard and soft landscaping to include widening of pedestrian footpaths, replacement paving, new lighting, extensive tree planting and perhaps eventually the pedestrianisation of the street with traffic access for residents only.

New Pedestrian Bridge over River Dodder
The permeability of the Mountbrook development is something which has been widely commented upon. Mountbrook, in a unique initiative, has opened up the site and provided some three acres of pedestrian streets. This move by Mountbrook to considerably enhance the pedestrianisation of Ballsbridge is demonstrated by a proposal to fund the complete cost of a new pedestrian bridge across the Dodder. The bridge will be located at the back of the Oval development which has recently been completed on Shelbourne Road.

Public Transport – LUAS
Ballsbridge is currently well served from the city centre by both Dart and QBC services to the south-east. However with the intensification of anticipated development there is scope to improve public transport. Dublin City Council is currently encouraging the commencement of a feasibility study regarding the alignment of Ballsbridge as a key part of a new “cross-city” LUAS line. The route is proposed to serve the city centre, Ballsbridge, AIB Bankcentre, RDS, St Vincent’s Hospital, RTE and culminating at UCD campus. Mountbrook, in conjunction with a number of other key developers is prepared to undertake the feasibility study and present it to the City Council and the Railway Procurement Agency for further consideration. This study is likely to be completed before the end of this year.

Sheltered Housing
Mountbrook has entered into discussions with Mount Tabor Housing Association regarding a possible redevelopment of their sheltered housing at Margaretholme, Claremont Road, Sandymount. Currently 38 residential units exist on this site which were built in the 1960s. There is scope for further intensification of this site and it is possible to provide up to 90 residential units, an increase of 52. A new community hall would also be included in the redevelopment. Mountbrook is in discussions with Mount Tabor Housing Association to complete this development over and above its required contribution to social and affordable housing. This initiative addresses an acute shortage of sheltered accommodation in the area as the population continues to age.

Local amenities
Mountbrook has set aside a sum of €5 million to contribute to local amenities as they arise. These will be judged on a merit basis in consultation with the local councillors and Dublin City executive planners.

Estimated costs
The following are the estimated costs of the community gains:-