The first phase of the regeneration of Pearse House flats complex in Dublin’s south inner city has been approved by the Department of Housing.
A revised application seeking funding and project approval for an “intensive upgrade” of four blocks, comprising 78 flats, was submitted to the department last December.
The department confirmed that the application has been approved and said Dublin City Council was notified on Friday.
The decision comes after the department last year rejected the first phase of the regeneration as a prior application made by the council involved the amalgamation of small flats, which do not meet minimum size standards, to create larger homes.
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The council had submitted plans to amalgamate 78 flats into 44 new units. The department refused to fund the project and said it was “not in a position to support proposals that would result in a significant loss of homes”.
The council’s new application for the first phase involves the regeneration of blocks L, M, N and P and said it contains “no amalgamations”.
“The Department of Housing have indicated that they are unwilling to fund a regeneration project that would result in a reduction of the number of homes currently provided,” it said. “There are 78 flats in phase one and it is proposed to provide an intensive upgrade to each flat.”
The local authority also said its project teams had been continuing to develop “detail design” as they awaited project approval.
Pearse House, which is made up of 345 flats across 11 blocks, was built in the 1930s and designed by renowned city architect Herbert Simms. It is a protected structure.
Blocks L, M, N and P consist of six studio, 40 one-bedroom, 24 two-bedroom and eight three-bedroom flats. All but three flats are understood to be occupied.
Dublin City Council confirmed that it had received project and funding approval for “a major renewal works programme” which will include “a comprehensive upgrade of all existing flats, stairwells, roofs, and communal areas, as well as improvements to the surrounding precinct”.
Timelines are being finalised ahead of issuing a tender later this year for a contractor to take on the works.
Speaking before an Oireachtas committee last November, Pearse House Residents Association said the estate had faced challenges relating to building condition, social infrastructure and changing community needs over the years.
“We would argue that the complex has become unmanageable and that there needs to be a realistic approach to securing a long-term vision and future for the community and tenants,” it said.
The council announced plans eight years ago to regenerate more than 6,000 of the city’s oldest and most dilapidated flats under a 15-year plan to raise social housing standards across the city.
The local authority was the subject of a ruling from the European Committee of Social Rights in 2017 over the poor condition of some of its older flat complexes. The Strasbourg-based committee found the human rights of tenants had been breached because of a failure to provide them with adequate housing.
In 2020, the council’s City Architects division produced plans for Pearse House to complete the regeneration in 11 phases over 12 to 15 years, reducing the number of flats to between 215 and 275.
