The City Edge Project - which proposes to house 85,000 people in new homes - should build for 'posh and rich' before less well-off folks, a senior planner involved has said.
The ambitious proposal to the West of the city plans to build 40,000 homes and create 75,000 jobs on the 700 hectare site in the Nass Road and Ballymount area.
Mick Mulhern, head of planning with South Dublin County Council, told a conference in Dublin on the City Edge project that a new railway station and Luas stop would be needed to support the development.
He said: “Our aspiration would be for a new rail interchange at that station which would have 15 trains stopping there per hour in both directions bringing you to Heuston in five minutes and to Connolly and the city centre in about 10 to 12 minutes.
“With that brings fantastic opportunities not only for those who live in Ballyfermot and just to north of it, but as an interchange akin to King’s Cross which becomes a focal point for a new centre around that.”
In order to attract the masses to the development, the wealthy in society who have more "choice" must move in first, the planner said.
He said: “Posh people, rich people have to live somewhere and they tend, obviously, to have more choice because they have this wealth. Do the first six-storey residential development for people who have got a choice.”
“Don’t force the most needy and dependent residents into stuff they don’t feel comfortable with because it’s different and it’s unusual."
He added that we need to “create something wonderful so aspiring people who are likely to be high earners do move in first."
Mr Mulhern insisted this strategy would help change people's perspectives on the development.
He said: “I’m not saying you don’t do any supported housing but whenever people see people who have got a choice moving to a six-storey development that has great space and great public amenity, and is connected into public transport and cycleways, other people will go from saying ‘You’re not going to force me to live there’ to ‘Oh, that’s quite nice, actually’.
“Then you might get the support from changing from the very low density to the medium density.”
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