Well-heeled residents have fallen foul of the local authority tenants with whom they share the apartment complex in Dublin’s financial services centre.
Singletons accuse their local authority neighbours’ children of trampling noisily on the complex’s communal green and of being “generally destructive”.
Tenants claim their children feel “imprisoned” in their own homes, because they are lambasted when they play outside. Jennifer Manly, who has three children, said: “Shauna got shouted at and told ‘don’t play on the grass. It’s private’. It’s ridiculous, how are we meant to live here?” Another mother, Catherine McDonagh, said: “It’s not fair that the private residents can have their kids play on the park area and ours can’t. Then, they give out about the noise, but stay up like big kids having parties all night.”
Private residents were more reluctant to speak publicly about the stand-off. One 27-year-old manager, who gave his name as Billy, said he is moving out.
“The problem has been building for the last seven months. The noise is terrible, but that’s what kids do. The management are not good at doing anything. Now they’ve arranged for a security person to come in. I can’t wait to get out of here,” he said.
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“Some of my neighbours are paying €1,500 or more a month. In the private apartments, people want to come home and relax. They’re single, young and don’t have kids. The whole idea of mixed housing doesn’t work inside this complex. You don’t get the peace you want for paying half a million.”
The row has disappointed Dublin Dockland’s Development Authority, the originators of the social housing project. Noel Ahern, a junior minister and brother of the taoiseach, launched the scheme in December. It recently won a prestigious Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland award for “Best Housing Project”.
Judges admired the quality and character of its public spaces: “The social housing residents in particular express appreciation of the identical standards achieved in both social and private units.”
Last week, the DDDA admitted its original design was flawed. In a statement it said: “One year on, it has become clear that the green common area at Clarion Quay does not accommodate the recreational needs of small children. The use of the space has been problematic and has caused some controversy among residents.”
The DDDA may take lessons from the Clarion Quay experience. It plans three more social housing projects in Dublin.
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The rectangular apartment complex in the city’s financial services area surrounds a communal green. About 37 of the complex’s 120 apartments are social housing, which the government bought for €7.3m. Those are rented out to local authority tenants.
Ian and Tanya Harris, who have two children, claimed that residents from the other blocks have ordered their children to play elsewhere. “They were told to go over to Sheriff Street’s playground. The traffic on the roads is dangerous and our kids are both under five.”
The DDDA has not ruled out setting up a special section for the children. But tenants are anxious that their children will be segregated behind a wall or fence.
Gerry Fay, of the North Wall Community Association, said residents are unhappy. “How do you tell a three-year-old, ‘don’t go there’. It’s difficult to explain to a young child about social division. Questions must be asked about why the developers of the site didn’t see this coming.”
Tracy Patterson, who represents the local residents association, is hopeful the problem can be worked out. “There is nothing for the children to do, so sometimes they play on the ‘tellytubby’ green area. We are all just trying to build a place where families can grow up.”
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Donal McManus, the executive director of the Irish Council for Social Housing, said the early stages of mixed developments are the most crucial. “Problems that can arise include issues of communal space, management issues and access to the units. You need to have all sides meet at the pre-planning stages.”