'It'll be carnage' unless more homes are built in Limerick area before further demolitions

The demolition of a house in Pineview Gardens, Moyross, in 2007 under the Northside Regeneration programme in Limerick. Moyross Residents' Alliance will continue to fight any further demolitions until more homes are built in the area. File picture: Sean Curtin/Press 22

Limerick residents are calling for more homes to be built in their community before any more are knocked down after the local authority agreed to postpone the demolition of two houses.

Limerick City and County Council confirmed that the proposed demolition of 1 and 2 Pineview Gardens in Moyross will be postponed due to the residents’ concerns. The demolition works were due to begin on Monday, May 30, but a planned protest saw the council delay their plans while further consultation takes place.

The Irish Examiner understands that this postponement will be for a period of four weeks. Jamie Daly, a community activist and a member of the Moyross Residents' Alliance, said that the community will continue to fight any demolitions until more homes are built in the area.

Mr Daly said the community is resisting the demolitions because of the impact the homeless crisis is having on local families.

“In some cases, there are two or three children sharing a couch, and 14 or 15 people staying in the one home. The situation in Moyross at the minute it’s absolutely horrendous,” Mr Daly said.

“When you are a grown adult, and you need your own living space, but you have to share a room with your mother and father, it sets massive barriers and challenges to you, as you grow,” he added.

A spokesperson for the council said that “it came as a surprise” that there was opposition to the demolition of these buildings given the proposal to retain 61 units at Pineview.

The council said there was extensive consultation with the residents of Pineview, including a door-to-door survey and an open day discussion, which were all contained in a submission to the Development Plan for the area.

However, Mr Daly said that many residents were not aware of the plans, and only did so when a notice was issued to neighbouring residents on May 19.

“There were a lot of Pineview residents who were against what was happening. You could see that they weren’t aware, as they were willing to stand outside and protest hard,” he said.

“You can’t miss out anyone here, you need everyone to be part of this new dream,” Mr Daly added.

A council spokesperson said that the end result would be a net increase of 90 units in Pineview across six phases. However, Mr Daly said the people of Moyross are wary of promises 14 years into the Regeneration Programme, which aims to re-develop the area.

“We need to see the homes built. Let's learn from our mistakes. People died while dreaming of promises of a brighter future. They were told that there would be this great community built, but they never lived to see it,” Mr Daly said.

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The council say that there is “no timescale” for the demolition of these two buildings, but that they need to be demolished as part of an “overall plan to consolidate Pineview Gardens in accordance with good urban design principles where the integrated design of housing, open space, public realm and infrastructure is balanced to achieve outcomes that are safe, healthy, resilient and equitable.” 

They said that the next steps are to engage with the community again on the issue.  “As such Moyross Residents Forum will be going door-to-door in Pineview next week.” However, Mr Daly said that as things stand, he believes that the residents will continue to oppose the works.

“There is nobody who is going to be able to come in here and start knocking houses unless the residents of Pineview Gardens agree to it and by all accounts that's very far away. Unless a solution is found here, it is going to be carnage. It is going to be very raw, and cause a lot of outrage,” Mr Daly added.