Flat complex near to demolition

ONE of Cork’s last 1970s-built NBA flats complexes moved a step closer to demolition today.

Cork City Council advertised for public submissions ahead of a planned €1 million demolition of the Deanrock flats in Togher.

A council spokesman said the ads were to alert people to the demolition and to encourage anyone with concerns to write to them.

There is asbestos in the roofs of the flats as was the case in the Blackpool flats, but the spokesman said the demolition work would be carried out in a careful and detailed way.

The flats should be gone from the prime, eight-acre site within a few months, clearing the way for a massive €50 million Public Private Partnership (PPP) regeneration to include a mix of private and affordable houses. The council has yet to finalise a design brief for the site. But once complete, it will form the template on which builders will be asked to base their designs for the area.

Council officials will then select the best design before putting it through the formal planning process.

Senior housing official Paul Moynihan said assuming everything goes to plan, building work could be underway within a year.

Just four tenants remain in the 108-unit complex.

Almost 400 of their neighbours have been relocated across the city since a major consultation and relocation process started over two years ago. The last residents should be relocated by the end of March.

Mr Moynihan thanked residents for their co-operation and acknowledged the role played by housing liaison officer Wally O’Sullivan, who organised the relocations.