Cork Street Buildings

Cork Street Buildings Newsletter October 2009

Neighbourhood meeting 1st September 2009
Minutes

1. Cameron House
2. Sewage problems
3. Waste
4. Iveagh Trust development
5. LIDL
6. Neighbourhood Watch
7. St Teresa's Gardens
8. Neighbourhood representation

1. Cameron House
Charlie Hammond came to speak about his experience as a community
activist, and the new community facility on the corner of Cork St and
Cameron St. He shared his experience from a lifetime of community
activism in the area, and spoke about some of the successes achieved
by organised community members in that time. As a member of residents’
associations, Charlie was involved in lobbying for the construction of
the community facilities on Marrowbone Lane (St. Catherine’s Centre)
and on Donore Avenue. He spoke about working with residents to
influence the council on many issues, including services for drug
users, planning and development, and providing jobs for the locals in
the area.

Charlie explained the plans for the community facility in Cameron
House. He explained that he was looking for volunteers to provide
services for the community, including homework clubs, activities for
the elderly, computer classes and a boxing club.
There is no money forthcoming from the Council at all for managing the
space, so Charlie is hoping to do fundraising, and to get a lot of
volunteer support. The building has a purpose-made space for a crèche,
and hopefully it will be possible to rent this space to a pre-school
group at a low rate to bring in some money for operational costs.

Charlie asked everybody in the community to consider getting involved,
either on the committee to run the facility, or else in volunteering.

After Charlie left, there was a brief discussion and a number of
people expressed an interest in getting involved; many said that they
were inspired by his presentation.

Charlie’s number is available, or he can be contacted via any member
of the committee.

2. Sewage problems
People on Donore Avenue are currently experiencing problems with their
sewage pipes backing up. This happens from time to time on most of the
terraces of the Cork St Buildings.

As the issue is usually caused by blockages in the drains between the
houses, it is not the legal responsibility of Dublin City Council, and
so residents have to pay to unblock the drains.

There was a discussion about how this problem should be tackled. The
drains are old and over-loaded, however, the problem is always
triggered by inappropriate waste. It is important that people do not
flush anything other than toilet paper and human waste: pipes are
often clogged with grease, nappies and other items.

If you can prove that the blockage is not on your terrace but is
external, then Dublin Council are responsible for removing the
blockage. Unfortunately, to do this you generally need to pay for a
survey with a camera, which isn’t worth the effort.

The residents of Donore Avenue got Claire Byrne (local councillor)
involved before, and she was helpful; but each time it happens you
have to start again.

Follow up: We agreed to keep one another informed about sewage issues
as they arise, and to share information about who to contact and how
to go about addressing the problems. The next community newsletter
will include a reminder to residents about items which can't go into
drains.

3. Waste
The problem of illegal dumping, while still an issue, has improved
significantly since this time last year - photos taken by residents on
different dates over the year prove this.

We attribute this largely to activities carried out by residents over
the past year. Many of these can be carried out by anybody affected by
illegal waste. These activities include:
* Phoning the council to report fly tipping (dumping bulky waste
from outside the neighbourhood)
* Reporting repeat offenders to the council litter wardens
* Making contact with landlords about tenants who repeatedly dump
(many houses don't have space to keep rubbish bags, and landlords
should be made aware of this limitation)

Other ways the residents group have tried to clean up the neighbourhood include:
* Regular distribution of newsletters informing residents about
bin collection days, recycling etc
* Painting houses
* Community clean-up day
* Distributing window boxes and flower barrels.

Follow up: We will continue to try to develop a cleaner neighbourhood
in the coming year. One thing that can improve this is better
monitoring and reporting of dumping. Residents should make an effort
to record every incident that they note, either by writing it down or
by sharing it with the community email list. This makes it easier to
make a case for a better service to the Council.

4. Moston/ Iveagh Trust development on Donore Avenue & Cork St
The closure of vehicle access to the North end of the terrace began
recently. Residents had expected that limited pedestrian access would
be maintained, but instead the entire alley has been blocked off.

There are also ongoing issues with the increase of parked cars in the
neighbourhood, given that construction workers on the site have to
park around the buildings. Residents from Donore Avenue have found
this especially problematic.

There was a brief discussion about parking once the new residence is
up and running. We explained that we don't expect many of the new
residents to need car parking space, but that we were taking the
Iveagh Trust at their word that this would be the case. The situation
will need to be monitored once Elveden House is opened.

Follow up: We will contact Moston and discuss pedestrian access to the
North end of Darley Terrace, as well as parking of construction staff.
We will invite a representative from the Iveagh Trust to a future
meeting to update the community on developments.

5. LIDL
Many residents have noticed a tendency of people to park outside the
Lidl, blocking the cycle path and also visibility for cars exiting
from Cameron St. This is really dangerous.

Residents on Maxwell St have experienced kids on their roofs, and
items being thrown into their yards, and suspect that the culprits may
be coming from the Lidl car park. They suggested that better lighting
in the car park might make a difference. Residents should be aware
that it's possible to ask to see the CCTV footage of the Lidl car
park: many residents have gone into the supermarket and done this, and
they can sometimes get evidence as to who is responsible for invading
their homes.

Follow up: We are liaising with Lidl on an ongoing basis, and will
raise issues relating to the car park.
We have spoken to the parking policy department in DCC, to check the
status of people parking in front of Lidl on the cycle path, blocking
the exit from Cameron Street.

Vehicles are parked illegally, and liable to be clamped, if:
* They are within 5 metres of a junction
* They are on a bus lane (between certain hours)
* They are on a cycle path (between certain hours).
We spoke to Sean Keane, and he agreed agreed that the cars parking
outside Lidl were probably parked illegally. He said he would send
somebody out straight away. I recommend phoning him every time you
notice problems there and people should learn fast enough: 222 22 61.
He also said that outside of office hours (or indeed inside) we can
call the clampers direct: 6022500 - Dublin Street Parking Services.

6. Neighbourhood Watch
We are still awaiting signs to put up around the streets to designate
the area a Neighbourhood Watch zone.
Residents are encouraged to put the stickers in their windows; if you
don't have a sticker, please contact the group email address.

There have been a number of break-ins in the area lately, so people
are advised to ensure that doors and windows are locked.

CCTV has recently been installed in St Teresa's Gardens, and the
Gardai are of the opinion that this has reduced criminal activity in
the area. The cameras have been in place for about a month now.

7. St Teresa's Gardens
A committee member is now sitting on the board of Vista (St Teresa's
Gardens redevelopment), as a representative of Cork St Buildings
residents.
She has made contact with the residents' committee of St Teresa's
Gardens, and has met with them, so that we can share information and
ideas. At present, the flats are being detenanted, and residents are
being rehoused in apartments; the residents committee is happy with
this arrangement. It remains to be seen when the flats will be fully
re-developed, but we are assured that the plans for redevelopment are
still completely relevant.

8. Neighbourhood representation
There has been a loose group of active residents leading activities
for the last year: this was approved at a meeting last September. We
did not hold a new election for a committee. Instead, we agreed that
those who were happy to continue would do so, and welcomed two new
people on board.

Clíona, from Darley's Terrace, has moved away recently, and so she
will be unable to continue her activism in the group, although she is
keen to remain involved. She was thanked sincerely by all the
residents for her relentless commitment and energy for the last two
years. She has been the momentum that kept things going on many
occasions.

The new committee will meet in early October and set out priorities
and goals for the coming year. Please get in touch if you would like
to help, or if there is anything of concern which you would like us to
help with.

Kind Regards,

Residents Group.

On Monday Aug 17, we attended a meeting in Cameron House, opposite the Lidl on Cameron St. The meeting was called by the residents' association for Cork St and Marylands: they ensured that the ground floor of Cameron House was designated entirely as a community facility, and they made specifications which the architects of the building incorporated in its final design.

It's an extensive space. There is a main room, the one bordered on two sides by windows facing on to Cameron St & Cork St. Then there are three smaller rooms (we think) and a children's play area. It's anticipated that one room could be kitted out with computers, and another as a kitchen.

The meeting was intended to bring the community together to discuss possible uses of the space. The council has asked the residents' committee for a business plan outlining how they will use the space.

Some ideas were as follows:

The core idea is to use the main room as a boxing club. Ronnie already runs a succesful boxing club in St Catherine's centre, but only for an hour and a half once a week, and there is no space to store the equipment, so in that time the equipment also has to be set up and broken down. The committee believe that a large number of young people would avail of this boxing club if it was available for a greater period of time.

The main way that the committee can see of raising revenue for the facility is to rent out a room say every morning for use as a private creche.

They would like to organise a homework club, and activities for elderly people.

Possibly cookery classes for kids using the kitchen.

They are opposed to using the space mainly as a meeting venue: they are keen to provide services.

One of the people in the meeting was a youth worker who runs a kids' club on Thomas St; he said he could run a club once a month on Saturday mornings.
Fundraising for activities outside of the centre, such as trips for kids.
The centre would need volunteers to help coordinate, run activities, keep things clean and fundraise.

Next steps:

Charlie Hammond has a list of names of people who are interested in being on a committee to manage the centre; and other names of people willing to volunteer. You can add your name to either of these lists.
The committee will hold a meeting with local kids to see how they would like to use the space.
Anybody interested will be contacted, in order to start drawing up a business plan. The business plan may include other partners who might want to establish additional services in the centre.
The Council will make a decision as to whether to hand over the space to the management of the residents, or to allow somebody else to take it over.

Charlie has agreed to come along to our meeting tomorrow to answer questions about the centre.

A Message from Cork Street & Maryland Residents Association

Cork Street has changed over the last number of years. We now have hundreds of new neighbours living in the new apartments along the street. We are easily the most densely populated section of the Liberties area but we still have no community building.
Many residents living in the area prior to the building of the new apartments will know that we fought long and hard to have a community facility included in the development of Cameron Hall, situated on the corner of Cameron Street and Cork Street. (Lidl is situated on the other corner, about 10 metres away.)
The Community building is now ready for occupation. Some five or six community organisations have now applied to Dublin City Council to take possession of the hall.
If we are to retain the right to occupy the building as agreed with Dublin City Council in 1999, then we must act quickly and decisively.
We need to elect a new committee which is representative of all people now living in the area, and put forward a viable plan for the use of the new facility.
A public meeting open to EVERYONE living along the new Cork Street including those in the Timber Yard apartments, and the residents of Emerald Square, Cork Street Buildings and Maryland will take place at 8pm on Monday 24th August 2009 in Cameron Hall.
This will be a great opportunity to view the above mentioned premises, get to know your neighbours new and old, and contribute your opinions ideas and suggestions. The Residents Association would wish that Cameron Hall will serve the whole community both young and old. We have some ideas, but with would welcome yours. Please come along.

Charlie Hammond
Chairperson
01-4547714

Cork Street Buildings Newsletter August 2009

The Liberties - a recent documentary about 12 people living and working in the Liberties today - will be screened Monday and Tuesday the 20th and 21st of July at 8pm at the St Nicholas of Myra Parish Hall at the corner of Francis St and Carmen's Hall. Tickets will be a recession busting €3 at the door.
More info here:-

http://www.whereistheliberties.com/

Clips viewable here:-

http://www.areaman.tv/tailorman.html

http://www.areaman.tv/brenda.html

http://www.areaman.tv/bcrowe.html

From the Dublin City Council website:-

Under Section 75 of the Roads Act 1993, the Council is considering authorising temporary closure of Darley’s Terrace from its junction with Donore Avenue from 10th August 2009 - 5th March 2010 (entire period). The temporary closure is to facilitate construction of apartments and associated works.

During the time of the closure, the following route diversion will apply:

The south entrance to Darley’s Terrace is to be opened prior to the closure of the north entrance. Bollards are to be removed by the Dublin City Council Traffic Dept (DCCTP). Moston Builders shall contact the DCCTP to request removal of the bollards. Moston Builders shall be liable for all costs incurred by DCCTP in removing the bollards and reinstating the road. Similarly, Moston Builders shall request DCCTP to reinstate the bollards at the end of the road closure period. Moston Builders shall be liable for all costs incurred by DCCTP in reinstating the bollards and road.
A temporary STOP sign is to be erected at the south junction by DCCTP. Moston Builders shall contact the DCCTP and request erection of this sign. A temporary statutory order shall be completed by the DCCTP for this sign. Moston Builders shall be liable for all costs incurred by DCCTP. Similarly, Moston Builders shall request DCCTP to remove the temporary STOP sign at the end of the road closure period. Moston Builders shall be liable for all costs incurred by DCCTP in removing the STOP sign and reinstating the footpath.
The main site access is to be used for all deliveries to the site. The laneway on Darley’s Terrace is not to be used for any deliveries.
Working hours are to be restricted to 08.00 to 18.00, Monday to Friday.
Pedestrian access and local vehicular access is to be maintained at all times.

http://www.dublincity.ie/RoadsandTraffic/ScheduledDisruptions/Pages/ScheduledDisruptionsHome.aspx

The Food Cycle
Saturday 13th of June
10.30 am gathering at the Garden of Remembrance.
Join Dublin food Growing for a unique chance to get on your bike, discover the gardens of Dublin, share gardening tips and food.

This route will visit Dublin's community gardens
* Sitric Road Community Garden
*Bridgeford Street
*SCR Community Garden
*2pm picnic in Dartmouth Square

A coffee afternoon will be held between 2.00pm and 4.00pm in Donore Hall, Donore Avenue, Dublin 8, on the afternoon of May 26th to celebrate European Neighbours Day.

The National Cancer Screening Service will be supplying an information stand and an Information Officer to answer any questions for the afternoon on Breast Cancer Screening and Cervical Cancer Screening.

The local Community organisations will also be attending to offer information on the services offered within the Community. Residents from the surrounding areas will be invited to attend along with all the Health Initiatives and interested parties in the wider area.

For further information please contact Paula Boylan, Assistant Community Officer on 087 749 6341.

Senior representatives from An Garda Síochána and Dublin City Council invite you to the first in a series of public meetings where the issues and the concerns facing your community will be aired and discussed.

There will be Coffee and Tea beforehand.

Venue: Digital Exchange Crane Street
Date: 24th March 2009
Time: 7.30pm to 9pm

Minutes from Community Meeting in Donore Avenue Community Centre, 21/04/09

Present: Louise Richards – the Iveagh Trust. Martin Hogan (Green Party candidate), Tina McVeigh (People Before Profit candidate), Críona Ní Dhálaigh (sitting councillor, Sinn Féin), Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fáil candidate), John Gallagher (sitting councillor, Labour), Rebecca Moynihan (Labour candidate). About 30 residents. Apologies: Clare Byrne (sitting councillor, Fine Gael)

1. Iveagh Trust development: Elveden House

Louise Richards shared some information about the development on the corner of Cork St and Donore Avenue. The artists’ impression and general detail about the development are all visible on the community group blog [LINK].

Louise outlined the long history of the Iveagh Trust in Dublin providing housing for those most in need, and the high standards which the housing attains. In particular, she pointed out that two of the units will be fully adapted for use by residents with disabilities.

Questions from the floor focused on the parking implications of the development, and the profile of residents. There was broad agreement that the Iveagh Trust is a reliable caretaker and that the development is an improvement on the vacant lot that was in its place. The Iveagh Trust has its own vetting procedures and maintains close contact with residents and also the gardaí.

Parking spaces in Elveden House will be very limited [since confirmed as four spaces], and there was some concern that this would result in residents parking their cars in the limited spaces around Cork St Buildings. Louise was of the opinion that very few residents would have cars, and that they would be informed that there wasn’t parking available before being offered the accommodation. Cork St Buildings residents expressed some unease about this, and ongoing communication with the site manager will be necessary to ensure that parking does not become an issue.

2. Discussion with council candidates.

A discussion was held over an hour with the 6 council candidates. There are 4 seats available in the constituency – an increase of one from the current situation. The following captures some of the main points raised.

Landlords and problem neighbours

Críona Ní Dhálaigh talked about the problem of bad neighbours who are renting from absentee landlords or from the HSE. There are problems in the area with noisy neighbours, and neighbours who dump on the streets. However, when these individuals have no relationship with the owner of the property, it is almost impossible to improve the situation. Some homes on Eugene St are very poor quality, meaning that landlords cannot ever tell their tenants how to behave since they are so badly treated.

Críona has reported properties in our area, and is investigating the idea of interim management orders to improve landlord accountability.

Martin Hogan mentioned new guidelines which are being developed on rental property maintenance; however, others pointed out that the problem is not absence of regulation, it is that existing regulation is not enforced.

St Teresa’s Gardens

Críona Ní Dhálaigh and Tina McVeigh drew attention to the poor quality of housing in St Teresa’s Gardens, and the urgency of addressing this. There is now no information about the plans for redevelopment of this complex, since the collapse of the public-private partnership model.

The maintenance of the flats is very poor: some tenants have experienced raw sewage coming from their taps. 90 units are vacant (of a total of 360), and while they are unoccupied, they are dirty, dangerous for children, and sometimes used for storage of drugs.

Local development

There was a discussion about development plans for the area. Críona and Rebecca encouraged people to get involved in the Dublin development plan, but they acknowledged that there is confusion around the applicable development plan for our immediate area.

One problem is that all new developments must include commercial property. In the short term, this results in empty lots which makes Cork St look derelict. A resident pointed out that if sites are not developed to be commercial units, it becomes impossible to draw commercial investment into an area.

Rebecca Moynihan agreed, and suggested that the units should be used in the short term in a flexible way, to generate life.

Críona favoured reducing rates to stimulate use of these spaces, and fitting them out to make them more attractive, while Tina suggested that they should be used for community enterprise.

Waste

The bin collection day has been moved to Mondays; a resident questioned how this will work over the summer months with frequent bank holidays. Candidates did not have a clear response. [DCC have since confirmed that waste will be collected on bank holidays]

A further discussion on waste in the area suggested that we designate the area a litter blackspot – apparently our area does not qualify for this designation.

Martin Hogan suggested that local business needs to take a role in these community issues, and thought that perhaps Lidl could provide dumping facilities in their parking space – he said that he would follow up.

Rebecca Moynihan spoke about community worm bins.

One resident suggested that the level of waste collection has become worse since we began to complain actively to the council. [DCC, on the other hand, report an 80% drop in illegally dumped waste]

Tina McVeigh discussed a successful experience in Devaney’s Gardens where residents monitored waste collection over a period, and then shared their concrete evidence with the council to call for improvements.

Anti-Social Behaviour

Residents of Eugene St asked for advice on how to stop the kids from getting on to their roof. Tina said that providing activities for young people reduces anti-social behaviour, and Paul from Vista outlined the extensive youth services available to young people in the area. He pointed out that the services available for the flats are available to our streets also. A number of residents were interested in supporting activities to keep the kids and young people on the streets active and amused.

Just a reminder about the public meeting with all councillors and council candidates next Tuesday 21st April at 7pm in the Donore Avenue Community Centre.

In attendance will be:-
John Gallagher - Labour
Rebecca Moynihan - Labour
Críona Ní Dhalaigh - Sinn Fein
Martin Hogan - Green Party
Clare Byrne - Fine Gael
Catherine Ardagh - Fianna Fail
Tina McVeigh - People Before Profit

This is a great opportunity for us to show the politicians that we care about what they're doing, and to help to influence their agenda. The more people who attend, the more seriously they will take us, and our concerns - so please try to come along.

Potential topics include:- waste issues, impact of DCC cutbacks, local policing, local planning, redevelopment of St Teresa's Gardens, housing policy and more - please let us know what you'd like to discuss.
A representative of the Iveagh Trust will also be there to answer questions about their new development.
Refreshments will be served...

Also - please don't forget the Clean-Up Day on April 25th! This will happen from 2-4pm and we encourage everybody to either participate in a general clean up, or to clean up their own houses and paths. We have rescheduled wall-painting for a less busy time, and DCC have committed to power washing the pavements some time very soon.

We hope to see you at one or other event.

There will be a Public Meeting with Minister for Energy, Eamon Ryan, for the people of Dublin 8 on Monday the 20th of April at 7.30 in Griffith College (Room A007), South Circular Road. Entrance to the room is through the main reception area of the College.

The meeting will present information on the new Home Energy Saving Scheme. This scheme provides €50 million in grant aid to householders who are looking to improve the insulation of their homes and reduce their energy bills.

The Scheme is funded through the Department of Energy and administered by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI). An expert speaker from SEI will present at the meeting on the practicalities of the scheme, the cost benefits of insulating your home and how to apply.

http://www.sei.ie/Grants/Home_Energy_Saving_Scheme/

To coincide with National Spring Clean Week, we are planning a clean-up of the area. The council are providing paint to brighten up walls, and are also providing the use of a power hose to clean pavements and a sand-blaster to clean up granite window sills. If you would like your sill cleaned, or think that an area of pavement needs an urgent clean-up, please let us know and we will contact the council. Also, if you can help paint walls, please get in touch! Dates to be confirmed, but this will happen some time in April.

Email: corkstreetbuildings@gmail.com

EDIT: Date is confirmed as 25th April - more details to follow!

Here is some information from The Iveagh Trust about the development on the corner of Cork Street and Donore Avenue. We have invited a representative of the Iveagh Trust to speak at our next public meeting on April 22nd.

The duration of the build is 60 working weeks from handover of site. Approx handover to Iveagh Trust is March 2010.
The Cork Street Development will be known as Elveden House and is for social housing.
There will be a mix of 1, 2 & 3 bed units.
The development will be made up of:
- 47 flats
- 5 x 3 bed / 16 x 2 bed / 26 x 1bed (2 have been modified for wheelchair users)
- 3 x 3 bed houses
- Estate facilities
- 2 x Ground floor retail units

If anyone is looking for a local handyman, you can contact:

Michael Phelan
Qualified & Experienced Carpenter - Basic plumbing & electrical.
Phone: 086 3475902
Email: michaelspowerhouse@yahoo.co.uk

If you know of any other locals offering useful services, please email us, or post a comment here!

We thought that, what with the local elections coming up in June, we might invite the local councillors, and local council candidates to a public meeting at the end of April.

We're trying to gauge interest, so please let us know if you're interested in coming along. We're proposing the night of Tuesday April 21st for the meeting, in the Donore Avenue Community Centre.

The discussion is open, but some topics we might raise might be:-

Local efforts to combat dumping
Any issues with Dublin City Council
Local planning issues
The new Liberties Area Plan & the new Dublin City Development Plan

Please email with any other suggestions - to corkstreetbuildings@gmail.com
Or leave a comment here on the blog!

Hope to see you there!

Available on the Dublin City Council website here:-
http://www.dublin.ie/devplan/

They say:-

Dublin City Council is starting the preparation of a new City Development
Plan. This plan-making process will take two years and will end with the
publication of the Dublin City Development Plan 2011-2017.
The paper is meant to kick-start public debate on what broad planning and development matters should be included in the new Plan. The paper sets out what we consider to be the main development issues facing Dublin City but the list is not set in stone and we want to hear what you think.
We want to hear your views on what you think are the ‘big picture’ issues facing the City. During the two year process there will be plenty of opportunity to raise and discuss more detailed matters but at this stage we would ask you to concentrate on the ‘big picture’ issues, and not, for example on the rezoning of particular parcels of land.
If the new Plan is to reflect your concerns and aspirations, in addition to Government strategies and guidelines, it is important that we have your input right from the outset.
The City Manager very much welcomes your views, or those of any group or organisation you represent, on what you consider the next City Development Plan 2011 – 2017 should contain.

TALES FROM A GREEK KITCHEN
Or how to
ADD SOME SUNSHINE ON YOUR PLATE
A 2-week course on healthy greek cooking that will focus on :

introducing the benefits of the mediterranean diet as an important practise against heart disease
preparing a traditional greek meal to take home
offering notes on the ancient greek philosophers’ views on food
providing the participants with authentic recipes

Duration : Two 2-hour meetings on Wednesday 4 and 11 in March
Time : 7 – 9 pm
Location : the Dublin Food Co-op, 12 Newmarket st., Dublin 8
Cost : 65 euro including the organic ingredients
Info and booking : katerina psimopoulos

katgr@mail.com
tel. 086 302 5513, 01 491 3009

It can be hard to get rid of stuff that's building up in your house: unwanted gifts; appliances you never use; furniture that doesn't match the new wallpaper. But that doesn't mean you want to dump it. There are a lot of options for finding a good home for your unwanted stuff (and picking up new stuff):

Oxfam Home
Located at the Coombe end of Francis St, Oxfam Home takes in furniture, books and music, homeware and electrical items. All the money raised from selling your unwanted stuff goes straight back to Oxfam, who use it in their work in developing countries. Details on what you can donate and how are here.

JumbleTown
Jumble Town is an online community for people to share unwanted items, and find wanted ones.

It works as a forum where people post details of items that they're getting rid of, and receive replies from people offering to take them off their hands. You can require that people collect the item if you don't have access to a car.

Dublin Waste free trade, and Freecycle are other online forums that work in the same way as Jumbletown, and are also great ways to pick up things you never knew you needed! You can sign up to a regular email newsletter from freecycle that will keep you informed of interesting things available for free.

Residents angry as council blame them for litter

DISPUTE: Locals are problem not us, say chiefs

By Cormac Murphy
Wednesday January 21 2009

A DUBLIN councillor has come to the defence of residents in one of the city's most rubbish-strewn areas -- after the council blamed them for the litter.

Dublin City Council admitted the area -- Eugene Street, Maxwell Street and Darley Terrace in the south inner city -- suffers with huge litter problems.

But, in a move which has angered local representatives, it attempted to blame residents for the problem.

However, Cllr Criona Ni Dhalaigh, who raised the issue with city chiefs, disputed this claim and criticised the council for taking the "easy way out".

"It's not all the residents. Some of it is because there is such a transient population there, but most of it is people coming in and dumping," Cllr Ni Dhalaigh told the Herald.

"That is an easy way out of it -- blaming the residents."

A spokesperson for the council claimed: "The area goes completely against national trends in that the vast bulk of the litter is created by the residents themselves through poor presentation of domestic waste."

Cllr Ni Dhalaigh's (SF) comments came after she tabled a question calling on the local authority to declare the district a "litter black spot".

In response, the council outlined the actions it has taken.

Blitz

It "organised a high visibility 'blitz' of the area during August [last year] comprised of the litter prevention officer, four litter wardens and two to three gardai," the report stated.

"This was carried out over three days in five-hour shifts, starting at 10am and ending at 9pm. The staff on duty engaged freely with residents, explaining why refuse should not be put on the street on a daily basis," the report added.

Other steps taken included "covert surveillance from an anonymous vehicle for a total of seven hours, spread out over a three week period" and random patrols by litter wardens.

It stated that litter black spots are determined by surveys carried out under the National Litter Pollution Monitoring System, but that the zone in question did not fit the profile.

The council added: "The level of littering on these streets is disproportional to the size and population of the area. The city council can only employ measures that are reasonable and feasible in the context of available resources.

Cllr Ni Dhalaigh said one of the major issues was absentee landlords "not replying to queries about residents who are untidy".

She said the streets are made up of tiny cottages, some of which are in a "terrible state".

comurphy@herald.ie

- Cormac Murphy

http://www.herald.ie/national-news/city-news/residents-angry...

Cllr Criona Ni Dhalaigh tabled two questions on behalf of residents at December's South Area Committee Meeting - here are the questions and DCC's responses:-

QUESTION:
"To ask the Area Manager in the new litter plan what is the criteria to have an area declared a litter blackspot and could she please consider the following area as a litter blackspot. The residents and I have made numerous representations to the council to take action on the illegal dumping in this area but the problem continues. Could she please also ensure that this area
is not left without a bin collection over the Christmas period as has happened in the past. Details: Darley's Terrace, Cameron Street, Eugene St, Maxwell Street,Fingal Street which are all of Cork Street/Donore Avenue"

MANAGER'S REPLY:
"The location of Litter Black Spots is determined by surveys carried out under the National Litter Pollution Monitoring System. The main Causative Factors identified as contributors to creation of Litter Black Spots are as follows: Pedestrians, Motorists, Retail Outlets, Gathering Points, Fast Food Outlets, Schools, Bus Stops. Refuse collection is also on the list but with a contribution level of only 0.1% nationally. The Cork St. Buildings area does not display any of the usual causative factors in that this is a very quiet set of purely residential streets with low footfall and little or no levels of vehicular traffic. The Cork St. Buildings area goes completely against national trends in that the vast bulk of the litter is created by the residents themselves, through poor presentation of domestic waste.

Whilst no survey has been carried out at this location, there is adequate local knowledge to establish that there is a significant litter problem in this area, which requires attention. For many years domestic waste was collected from these streets on a daily basis, which exacerbated the litter problem. In response to this problem the City Council has:
1. Organised a high visibility 'blitz' of the area during August of this year comprised of the Litter Prevention Officer, 4 Litter Wardens and 2-3 Gardaí.
This was carried out over 3 days in five-hour shifts, starting at 10am and ending at 9pm. The staff on duty engaged freely with residents explaining why refuse should not be put on the street on a daily basis,
2. Waiver Application Forms were distributed to those that might qualify and advice given on how to complete same,
3. A clear statement of refuse collection arrangements for the area was distributed,
4. Covert surveillance from an anonymous vehicle for a total of 7 hours spread out over a three-week period,
5. In order to enhance the area and encourage residents to take pride in their place, a number of flower tubs were placed on all the streets and a subsidised sale of window boxes and plants organised,
6. Guaranteed collection of all untagged waste on a once weekly basis for detailed search by a Litter Warden in the local Depot,
7. Visits to individual householders concerning presentation of waste following tip-offs by eyewitnesses,
8. Encouraged the residents to set up a revitalised committee to represent the area and facilitate communication with all those living on the streets,
9. Regular random patrols by Litter Wardens.
The level of littering on these streets is disproportional to the size and population of the area. The City Council can only employ measures that are reasonable and feasible in the context of available resources. The City Council has not refused any reasonable request from the residents representing this area.
Refuse collection for this area takes place every Thursday. [the reply went on to list the Christmas waste collection arrangements.]"

QUESTION:
"To ask the Area Manager to permit the use of the covert anti-dumping camera (which has secured 12 prosecutions for the council) to assist with the serious illegal dumping at (details supplied). The residents are at the end of their tether with the illegal dumping taking place here. Could she also ensure that an information leaflet on waiver entitlements be issued in this area. Details: Darley's Terrace, Cameron Street, Eugene St, Maxwell Street, Fingal Street which are all of Cork Street/Donore Avenue"

ANSWER:
"CCTV cameras are used to capture offences against the Litter Pollution Acts at locations where vehicles are used in the commission of an offence. This office has discussed the issue of placing CCTV cameras in the Cork St. Buildings area with our Security Company. The litter problem at this location is largely caused by a significant number of residents who insist on dumping household waste on the street on a daily basis. As vehicles are not used in the commissioning of the vast bulk of offences on these streets, CCTV systems would be of limited use and would constitute a poor use of limited resources. The Security Company also pointed out that as the only available mounting points are relatively close to ground level, cameras could be subject to anti-social activity and the City Council liable for the cost of replacing expensive equipment.
Residents have already been distributed with waiver forms in recent months and advised on how to apply. Approximately 12 applications were received subsequently from this area."

The Draft Liberties Local Area Plan has been published - you can download a copy here. Our streets remain just outside its boundaries, but it will definitely impact on us, for the better, if and when it is implemented.

If you have any objection to any aspect of the plan, please contact one of your councillors, who need to lodge objections before January 22nd, in advance of a meeting on February 8th to consider it.

Another plan by the same team of planners in (John Thompson & Partners) dealt with Dolphins Barn, and took in another adjoining area: St Teresa's Gardens, the Bailey Gibson & John Player factories and the Coombe Hospital. This was published in 2006, and has informed planning decisions for these sites. You can see an overview here.

Hopefully we will eventually see the implementation of both of these plans.

The next Dublin Flea Market is in Newmarket on Sunday January 25th

More details on the new Dublin Flea Market blog...

http://dublinflea.blogspot.com/

The new Green Bin provider will be Greyhound - and it looks like the schedule and the service will remain unchanged - with the addition of all plastics being recyclable (and not just PET-1 and PET-2).

Lots of information available here.

Next collection is on Friday 16th January and takes place every fortnight.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Monday, August 31, 2009

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Monday, July 20, 2009

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Monday, April 27, 2009

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Friday, March 20, 2009

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Monday, January 19, 2009

Friday, January 9, 2009

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Saturday, January 3, 2009

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