Residents demand end to building work

RESIDENTS evacuated after vibrations from building work damaged their inner-city homes have called for a complete halt to the development project.

John Lynch, 51, was one of six tenants evacuated from their council homes at Corporation Buildings in Cork at the weekend.

He said the builders should be forced to stop all work on the retail and apartment project, off Cornmarket Street, until an inspection is carried out.

“The whole building should be stopped,” Mr Lynch said.

He and five other tenants were still staying in city hotels last night as engineers continued to assess the damage. Some are expected to be allowed home within the next few days.

However, at least four tenants, including Mr Lynch, whose homes are still being inspected, are facing a longer wait.

An eight-metre high wall adjoining the gable wall of his home has broken away.

Cracks have also appeared in the arch over his doorway and in the wall just inside his front door. “I don’t know if I’ll feel safe going back there,” he said. “I can’t see it being fixed. I’m not comfortable about going home. I’m afraid to move back home. This is a very stressful situation for us all.”

Pile-driving work was still being carried out on the site close to the damaged homes yesterday.

Senior housing official Paul Moynihan said calling a halt to the project is an option but not one which was immediately needed.

A full structural assessment of the wall and the structural stability of the houses and foundations was conducted yesterday.

“The full scale of the damage needs to be finally determined and we need to establish the danger of further damage. We want to eliminate all risk to our tenants,” Mr Moynihan said.

Discussions are ongoing between the council and the developer’s agents about remedial works, he said.

The developers carried out work yesterday to prop up the wall.

It also emerged that city officials expressed concerns about damage to the homes from the construction around the time they granted permission to Rockfell Investments for the project.

In internal letters between city hall officials, senior planner Ronnie McDowell pointed out the development site abuts the council-owned properties.

“It is imperative that agreement is reached between our housing section and the developers as to the method of construction proposed so as to ensure that no damage will occur to existing city council housing stock,” he wrote, in a letter dated October 5, 2004. A letter from the council’s planning office to agents for Rockfell around the same time also warned developers about the issue.