Dublin City Council progressing housing plans for Orchard Road depot site.

Householders along Clonliffe Road, Orchard Road and across Ballybough have been enquiring of me about how much progress Dublin City Council is making in terms of redeveloping the Depot site on Orchard Road, Dublin 3.

That’s why earlier this week at the monthly meeting of the Council’s Dublin Central Committee, I asked officials in the Housing Department a variety of questions in respect of these redevelopment plans, including:

• the progress being made in advancing the redevelopment;
• the numbers likely to be built;
• the height and density of the planned redevelopment;
• the timeline for the advancement of a formal planning application;
• when it is expected that construction work will begin;
• a completion date and indicative timeline for the opening of the complex;
• the indicative level of funding requirement and what discussions have been had with the Department to date in securing that funding.

I was advised, in response to the above, that a feasibility study has just been completed on the Orchard Road Depot site. The site is adjacent to a Dublin City Council Senior Citizen complex (Tom Clarke House) which was part of an amalgamation programme and had a full makeover in 2018. It is now a very high-quality scheme that meets NZEB standards for energy efficiency and requires no refurbishment or attention currently. During this refurbishment phase twenty-four bedsits were turned into twelve one-bedroom apartments. There are also ten additional one-bedroom units on the site (newer models to Tom Clarke House) giving a total of twenty-two Dublin City Council senior citizen units in that area. Therefore, Dublin City Council has taken this into consideration as part of the preparation of the feasibility study on the Orchard Road depot site.

Officials have also informed me that they are considering the potential to knock the retaining wall between the depot site and Tom Clarke House complex to create an integrated Senior Citizen complex (giving a total of eighty-four units across the two schemes). 

There would need to be an emphasis on the landscaping elements to bring the two sites together. 

In terms of the next steps, I believe the Council will examine the potential by seeking interest from Approved Housing Bodies like Cluid or Circle Housing, for example, in order to determine whether those organisations would have the capacity and ability to advance this redevelopment project.

I know that residents will have many questions arising from the information detailed above. Under normal circumstances, I would circulate my Clonliffe / Ballybough Matters newsletter to share these details. However, given the ongoing restrictions associated with the pandemic, and the risk of transmission of Covid-19, I am not circulating or delivering such newsletters. Please share this update with anyone who you know will be interested and I will happily answer any questions or queries that they or you may have.