Dublin City Councilors have rejected a controversial plan to build 853 new homes on the Oscar Trainer Road site in Cologne.
A total of 48 councilors voted against the proposed 17-hectare project at the junction of Port Tunnel and Oscar Trainer Road. Only 14 people supported the project.
The main concern of most councilors is that half of the homes on the government-owned site will go to private developer Glenveagh.
Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats, the Green Party and independent councillors instead called on the local authority to develop the site. Councilors are of the opinion that it is possible to build community houses entirely in the area.
Prior to the vote, Sinn Féin councilor Daithí Doolan had warned that the council’s plans were fundamentally flawed because it did not provide affordable housing for the needy.
Meanwhile, Brendan Kenny, deputy chief executive of Dublin City Council, warned that the council could not control the development of the site. Rejecting the resolution would result in the loss of more than 250 social housing, he said.
He told the council that alternative plans could be considered, but a majority of councilors rejected the plan.