BRL accuse Ballymun residents of being 'Hijackers'.
BRL at a public meeting accused concerned residents of being 'hijackers' and 'politicians' when they tried to ask questions about one of the bits of the BRL regeneration. So much for consultation.
At the same meeting, the BRL managing Director said to a local resident, in front of others, that he would 'love to have a few years to spend going through college with you so that you would understand' the issues. So it seems now that Ballymun Residents must have university qualifications in order to understand what is happening to their estate.
The ironic thing is that the actual resident concerned has many university qualifications in the many of the issues covered by the regeneration. He has asked the Managing Director for an apology for this insulting presumtion. We'll let you know if he gets it.
BRL Forum Meeting. BRL plans to build houses in Poppintree with no windows at the back of the house on the third floor! The houses overlook the Travellers Site.
Judicial Review in the High Court of another bit of BRL plans.
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The High Court has given leave to Mr. Robert Guillemot, a long time resident of Ballymun flats, to take a Judicial Review case against one of the planning applications granted to Ballymun Regeneration Limited.
The essence of the case is the inadequate treatment of the effects of drainage and flooding in the area. Mr. Guillemot stated today that he is taking the case because he is concerned that the development would worsen the existing flooding problems in the area. He is also concerned that Dublin Corporation may use part of Poppintree Park as a flood water retention area.
Mr Guillemot stated that he wants the regeneration however many aspects of it need to be revised so that Ballymun people benefit properly from the plans.
Mr. Guillemot is supported by a large number of local residents and by community groups.
For further details email here or here
At a BRL meeting tonight, residents in Belclare in Poppintree rejected quite clearly and angrily BRL's plans for their area (a green site in Belclare). BRL said that when the Masterplan was put on show in 1998 Ballymun residents agreed to it (eventhough the number agreeing is only a portion of the population of Ballymun). One resident said she did not and that in fact a petition was sent in objecting to the plans for their area.
However it wasn't the Masterplan that was being presented to the Belclare residents tonight. Instead it was a detailed plan of 25 units to be built at the end of peoples back gardens.
It should be noted that BRL in 1998 said that the Masterplan was only an idea of what the regeneration 'might' or 'could' look like. They never told many of us that this is what is WILL look like. Now that the details are coming to light, it is clear that there are many problems with the plan as it stands at the moment. Belclare residents stood up for themselves and showed that they want the regeneration but they are not happy with the way it is being carried out.
We have just recieved the following information.
On November 30, 1999, a company called Dunawlet Limited was registered. On February 23, 2000, this company changed its name to BALLYMUN BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY PARK DEVELOPMENT LIMITED.
In the BRL Newsletter for March 2000, it states that BRL 'will recommend to Dublin Corporation that Green Property plc should develop the Business and Technology Park with BRL'. Considering that a company was registered well in advance the newsletter, it appears that this was a foregone conclusion. WORSE, the fact that a company was initailly registered under a different name (this means that it wouldn't come up in a search of companies with the word 'Ballymun' in the title) shows clearly that people would not know that the company had already been established. So much for consultation. To find out more about this and how IT AFFECTS YOU, click here.
The Commuity Action Programme (CAP) in Ballymun have released a report on the role of community groups in the regeneration process. The report found that the vision of the community groups within the regeneration process has not been developed. There are 100 community groups active in Ballymun and these employ 300 people yet they face an uncertain future with the implementation of the regeneration plan.
The BRL plan must be revised to take account of these groups. If the plan had been properly concieved, BRL would have considered detailed plans to ensure community groups were not made homeless by the regeneration.
We have been given copies of a notice of Final Design Meetings to be held on Monday, April 3, 2000 and Tuesday, April 4, 2000 at Stormanstown House, at 7.30pm. The Monday meeting concerns a development at Poppintree Sites 3-5a and 5b. The Tuesday meeting is about Balcurris Sites 2-3 and 4. These notices were issued by the Ballymun Housing Task Force on behalf of BHTF and BRL. A note at the end of the notice states that the meetings are for residents of Clarke Tower and 1-192 Balcurris Road 'only'. This is clearly an attempt by BHTF and BRL to exclude Ballymun residents all of whom are affected by all aspects of the regeneration. Further and specifically, while all meetings should be public for anyone to attend, Ciaran Murray, BRL's Managing Director, stated in a Letter to Patricia McKenna MEP (March 8, 2000), that all Final Design Meetings are 'open public meetings'. But yet these notices are an attempt to exclude interested people. So much for consultation. Click here to see a copy of a notice. (The document is large so you may need to scroll the screen to see it all, or download and open in Corel Photo House or Kodak Imaging).
