Comprehensive Ballymun Update for May
Community Update
Events
5th Annual “LIFT” Youth Arts Festival
This festival is organised by the Ballymun Festival Steering Committee, an interagency group co-ordinated and supported by the Community Development Team. The festival took place between the 24th and 31st of March and involved a wide range of arts activities including exhibitions, films, workshops and a circus school with performance opportunities. A total 1,400 individual tickets were sold for the festival and over 600 art pieces went on display in a number of locations throughout Ballymun. The event was core funded through the Arts Council for Ireland and the City Council.
11th Annual Ballymun “Otherworld” Festival Planning for this month long festival has commenced under the auspices of the Ballymun Festival Steering Committee. The group hopes to maintain and build on the success of this event in terms of foot-fall, reductions in anti-community activity and positive publicity for the area in general. The festival pageant is scheduled to take place on the Sunday 31st of October at the Civic Plaza in the centre of Ballymun.
Seachtain na Gaeilge
This country wide Irish language festival took place between the 8th and 17th of March. As part of a wide ranging series of events and activities the Community Section brought together a group of interested parties to co-ordinate a calendar of twelve events including concerts and Ceílí, Irish classes and sports activities. Over 1,500 people took part in the various activities. An Rith Mór, a relay race from Belfast to the West of Ireland via Dublin passed through Ballymun. Three local schools carried the baton for various stages of this leg with over 400 children participating in the event.
B.A.D.I.G
The disability focus group of the Dublin City Community forum are launching the disability inclusion protocol “Working towards disability inclusion”. This event is being held in the Axis Centre on Wednesday 19th May at 3.30pm.
Burren Court
Community Development and Poppintree Estate Management in partnership with Global Action Plan have begun a community gardening project in Burren Court. The participants are from the Ballymun Job Centre and the residents from Burren Court. This is part of a training course that 16-24 year olds, both male and female are partaking in. This project started on the 4th May and will continue for another 5 weeks.
Relocation of Community Groups
Ballymun East Child and Youth Facility
This new centre continues to prosper. All three groups have settled in well and a number of other community organisations are using the shared spaces for workshop and training opportunities. The building is held under a temporary licence secured from the Virgin Mary School by the City Council. A three year licence arrangement is due for completion by the end of June 2010.
Silloge Temporary Community Facility
BRL has purchased a portacabin for use as a temporary community facility for four groups currently operating from flats in the Silloge and Shangan areas. The facility is passing through the planning process and is due for occupation in June. Negotiations are ongoing with the groups involved to facilitate their transition from the flats into this shared facility.
Community Lettings
Since the last report Acorn Empowerment has moved from basement 5H in Balbutcher Lane to a flat at 63 Shangan Road. The Bernie Hopkins crèche is due to move over in the summer from her current accommodation in Silloge Road to Balbutcher lane, this is in order to facilitate the demolition process. Negotiations are well underway with Bernie to ensure she is actively involved in all aspects of the move.
Friends of the Park
The purpose of establishing “Friends of the Park” initiatives is to explore potential ways to respond to local residents fears associated with the parks. It is also hoped that through these forums we can look at developing some community led initiatives that would encourage local ownership and pride in the new and existing parks. In previous years there have been events organised through the “Friends of the Park” initiatives in Coultry Park, Whiteacre and in Silloge Green. This summer it is hoped to develop the Silloge Park group, to organise initiatives in Balcurris Park and in Coultry Park. A “Friends of the Park” group will also be formed for the new Poppintree Park. A notice has been placed in the Safer Ballymun Newsletter stating that if any resident is interested in becoming involved or requires more information on this initiative to contact our community development section.
Safer Ballymun
Balbutcher Lane: A number of road safety issues have been raised in relation to Balbutcher Lane Lower. Through the Safer Ballymun Steering Group a number of actions have been taken in response to these concerns
including:
- Increased speed checks by the Gardaí;
- The planned installation of three junction tables by BRL to commence in June 2010;
- The planned installation of traffic lights with a pedestrian phase at the Poppintree Neighbourhood Centre to commence in June 2010.
Gateway Crescent: A number of concerns about the illegal dumping of domestic refuse around Gateway Estate have been raised. The Safer Ballymun Steering Group has identified and carried out a number of actions in response to these concerns:
- DCC Waste Management has been actively enforcing the bye-laws relating to bin charges. Detailed inspection letters were delivered to 56 households in breech of the bye-laws informing them of their offence and the consequences;
- DCC and the Sillogue/Sandyhill Forum have distributed information on the Domestic Waste Waiver programme;
- DCC are pursuing the owners of three abandoned houses in the area with a view to initiating proceedings under the Derelict Sites Act, 1990.
- Sillogue/Sandyhill Forum has hosted a clean-up day in the area.
Coultry Blocks: As a result of significant anti-social activity around the partially detenanted flat blocks on Coultry Road, the Safer Ballymun Steering Group have met with the residents of the first block on Coultry Road and the residents of Woodhazel Close and have identified a number of actions. These actions have been implemented and have resulted in a significant decrease in anti-social activity in the area. The actions
include:
- The installation by BRL of a fence cordoning off the back of the first block;
- Targeting of the area by Gardaí through Operation Aim;
- The establishment of a joint residents group with the support of the DCC Community Development Section between the residents from the first Coultry block and Woodhazel Close;
- The maintenance of an incident log by the residents.
In addition a co-ordinated interagency intervention is being planned to engage with the group hanging out in the first block in Coultry, including specific attention from the BRYR outreach team.
Community Alcohol Strategy
At the beginning of 2009 Safer Ballymun began working with the Ballymun Local Drugs Task Force to initiate the development of a Community Alcohol Strategy for Ballymun with a focus on assessing and reducing the nature and extent of alcohol related harm in the area. Over the course of the year a working group has been consulting local residents, community groups and other relevant stakeholders. The final Community Alcohol Strategy for Ballymun is scheduled to be completed in June 2010 and the launch is planned for 24th June.
Safer Ballymun Sub-Committee
A sub-committee of Safer Ballymun has been convened to address the issue of repeat juvenile offenders in Ballymun. The committee has met twice and will report to the Safer Ballymun Forum with its recommendations.
Extension of Concierge System
In response to safety concerns raised through Safer Ballymun about high levels of anti-social behaviour experienced by tenants living in the remaining partially detenanted blocks of flats, BRL and DCC submitted an application to the DOE for funding approval for the extension of the concierge system. A decision from the department is expected shortly.
Safer Ballymun Public Meetings
There have been two public meetings of Safer Ballymun held since the last meeting of the Joint Policing Sub-Committee – on January 25th and March 15th. The meeting held on January 25th focused on three areas: Balbutcher Lane; Gateway Estate; Coultry flat blocks/Woodhazel Close. The Coordinator of the Ballymun School Attendance Community Action Initiative delivered a presentation. At the meeting on March 15th updates on the casework completed in relation to Balbutcher Lane, Gateway Estate, and Coultry flat blocks/Woodhazel Close was presented. Residents also raised a number of safety concerns regarding the flat blocks on Shangan Road and Poppintree Park.
White Paper on Crime
Safer Ballymun submitted a response to the White Paper on Crime Discussion Document published by the Department of Justice. The submission included an overview of Safer Ballymun as well as recommendations relating to local community safety partnerships, the supply and sale of alcohol, and the youth justice system.
Housing / Estate Management
Ballymun Lettings
January – April 2010
Category
Housing List Transfer List
Points
4 3
Homeless
Medical
Welfare
1
Fire/Flood
1
Regen Detenanting (new)
14
Regen Detenanting (interim)
7
Inter Transfer
Surrender of Larger Accommodation
1
Financial Contribution
Unfit Accommodation
Estate Management
Part V Planning Act 10
Sub Totals
4 37
Overall Total 41
Anti Social Unit
Estate Management: 51 formal complaints were received and 13 interviews took place in the Ballymun Area Office between February and March 2010.
Final Warnings: 2 Final Warning issued for continuous anti-social behaviour
Coultry Road/ Silloge Road
We continue to meet with the residents in these areas in relation to the problem of gangs congregating on the blocks. The 2nd block in Silloge Road is now empty and secured, this has helped reduce some of the anti-social behaviour in Silloge Road. We continue to meet the tenants and the Gardai to resolve the anti social behaviour, which is occurring in the remaining blocks in Silloge and Coultry.
C.C.T.V / Concierge
We are in daily contact with the concierge in Balbutcher Lane who operate our C.C.T.V and our door entry system. We continue to work with them in identifying areas where anti social behaviour occurs and liaise with the Gardai and the local residents in resolving this behaviour. We continue to work towards the introduction of the new C.C.T.V, which will be introduced in the coming months.
Transitional Housing
The 5 families who were identified for transitional housing have now moved to their new homes. These units are being managed by Sophia Housing. The families are engaging with the services that they have been offered and Dublin City Council will continue to work with these families in the coming months.
A member of Dublin City Council’s Anti Social Unit in Civic Offices held a meeting with the Gardai and City Council staff in Ballymun to update all on any changes in anti social behaviour policy and to discuss how other areas are dealing with the problems of anti social behaviour. Further meetings have been organised.
Estate Offices
Poppintree: The Poppintree Estate Office has opened to the public. The opening hours are 9.30am to 1pm Monday to Friday. In the coming weeks a member of the Community Gardai and the local health nurse will sit in the office for one morning a week. Frank Murphy from the Law Centre sits in the office on the third Thursday of every month.
Carton Estate: The local estate office is working closely with the residents of Poppintree in relation to the problem of waste management.
There has been the ongoing issue of bin collections. The local office has helped a large number of residents sort out their bin charges/ waivers. This is still an ongoing issue that will take time to address fully.
The courts are swept once a fortnight. The Estate Manager regularly walks the area with the Ballymun Environmental Group, to ensure the Courts are being cleaned on a regular basis. The Housing Wardens walk the area everyday and report on different issues. The Dog Warden is also in the Poppintree area on regular basis issuing fines and lifting stray dogs.
Balbutcher Balcurris: A clean up of the areas surrounding Joseph Plunkett Tower and Balbutcher Lane took place during March. This work included removing trees and shrubs where gangs were gathering and engaging in anti social behaviour. The front entrance to Plunkett Tower was cleaned and resurfaced.
Shangan Neighbourhood Centre: The number of visitors to the Shangan Area Office continues to increase on Wednesday mornings. Graffiti in the area continues to be reported by the Area Warden daily and removed on a weekly basis. Litterbins are emptied and roads swept on a weekly basis. The Office continues to call on the remaining tenants in Shangan Road to guage interest in moves to alternative accommodation in Ballymun.
Coultry Neighbourhood Centre: We continue to work with the tenants in the remaining block in Coultry this includes trying to identify those who might be interested in moving to alternative housing in Ballymun. The Coultry area is walked by the Wardens on a daily basis and where rubbish is identified we look to have it removed.
Relocation
The next 16 units in Balcurris 5 (St Josephs Way and Dane Road) have been handed over to Dublin City Council. The families that moved in were from Coultry Road, Balbutcher Lane, Silloge Road and Shangan Road. Allocations are ongoing for the remainder of Balcurris 5 and rent assessments are on going. Handovers are due to be completed by the end of May. It is expected that the boy’s hostel will move from Shangan Road to their new units in Balcurris 5 at this time.
Block 4 in Silloge Road will be totally vacated by the end of June with most of the tenants moving to Balcurris 5 and to older houses presently being refurbished in Ballymun for the purpose of de-tenanting.
The last remaining tenants in the second block in Silloge Road (94-186) have moved out and the block was handed over for demolition.
Two crèches have moved from Silloge Road and Shangan Road to the new Poppintree Community Centre .
Two community groups have moved from Balbutcher Lane to the new units in the community block on Shangan Road (1-93)
16 families have moved to new houses and apartment in Hamptonwood. These families have moved from all over the Ballymun area.
The situation with the lifts has delayed the detenanting process, as a hoist is now required to remove tenants furniture. This means that we can generally only relocate one family per day.
Clerk of Works/Quality Control
Silloge Close/Way /Green/Park/Place (Silloge 5): These units are still being “de-snagged”..There are still some outstanding issues with the builders.
Dolmen Way/Terrace/Dane Court (Poppintree 3): We are currently dealing with any snag items or building problems arising.
Cranoge Terrace (Poppintree 12): We are currently dealing with any snag items or building problems arising and are still in the process of de-snagging these units.
Marewood Crescent (Silloge 6): We are currently dealing with any snag items or building problems arising.
Coultry 4 and 5: We are working with B.R.L. to resolve a number of roof leaks here.
B.E.Rs: We are continuing to complete Building Energy Ratings for all D.C.C. Housing Maintenance Areas including Ballymun. We continue to liaise with the Housing Maintenance Depot, Contractors and B.R.L after the dwellings have been signed off and deal with any latent defects that may occur.
Rent Assessment
In addition to the general day-to-day functions of Ballymun Rent Assessment Section, the following took place during March and April 2010.
1) Updating of Household Income Forms 2007/2008
2) Debits and credits.
3) Over 18’s List
4) Rents letters for Finglas Area
Updating of Household Incomes Forms 2007/2008.
As previously reported, the remaining AR1 (Household Incomes Details) forms have been distributed by the central rents office. To date, approximately 900 of these forms have been returned to this office and of these approximately 600 have now been fully processed. We are now processing the remaining forms that have to date been returned but as these are being processed during normal working hours, there is a delay in dealing with them.
Debits and Credits.
The following debits and credits were applied to accounts in Ballymun during January and February.
March – Debits : €14,010.26 Credits : €14,939.20
April – Debits : €34,931.2 Credits : €34,355.39
Over 18’s List
During January and February 2010, approximately 70 sub-tenants turned 18. All of these have been requested to submit income details or verification of their full time education where applicable. The majority have now submitted the relevant documentation and the remainder have been contacted again to request the required information. Assumed incomes have been applied to these accounts.
Rents Letters for Finglas.
For the last number of years the Ballymun Office, rather than the Finglas Office appeared on letters in relation to Rents. This has now been rectified and the Finglas address now appears on this correspondence.
Lift dispute
The City Council will be in the High Court on 20th May seeking a permanent injunction to restrain Pickerings staff from picketing in Ballymun. A tender is being prepared for a replacement lift contract, with effect from 1st July. The army continues to repair lifts in the area and although progess is slow, they have brought some lifts back into service. The area forums have been contacted and residents are being encouraged to report any anti-social behaviour in relation to the lifts as Dublin City Council cannot guarantee that they will be brought back into service quickly.
RAPID
FAS/RAPID Training and Education Initiative Evaluation The FAS employment and training strategic theme sub group was established and includes members from the following organisations: Ballymun Local Employment Service, Ballymun Job Centre, Department of Social and Family Affairs, Dublin City Council, FAS, Ballymun Regional Youth Resource Centre and Ballymun Probation Officer. The subgroup was responsible for: securing the facilities for the courses, identifying the individuals for the course, securing work placement for the participants, monitoring and evaluating the courses, identifying the course coordinator and the tutors required, attending regular meetings to monitor the course. Ballymun Job Centre was working with the age group that this programme targeted – 18 to 25 year olds and had already completed a survey of the needs of this age group. The sub group decided to run two courses, each of which enrolled 20 participants. Course 1: – Health Related Fitness FETAC Level 4, Course 2: – Retail Sales and Computer Service FETAC Level 3 & 4. Both courses consisted of 10 weeks full time training and will include an additional 7 weeks work placement. Course 1: – Health Related Fitness FETAC Level 4 began on the 18th of December and Course 2: – Retail Sales and computer service FETAC Level 3 & 4 started on the 4th of January. ILAM was awarded the contract by FAS to deliver both the courses and was responsible for the delivery of the courses content along with the daily monitoring and evaluation of the course. The short timescale from approval of funding to target start date for 2 courses, presented problems particularly with the Retail Course as we had to promote, recruit, interview and ensure all student enrolment paper work was completed. However all partners involved in the subgroup worked well together to meet the deadlines. The sub group has decided to hold a college type graduation for all trainees that are successful with the course, which will take place in September in Ballymun Civic Centre when the FETAC course certificates will be awarded to the students.
Ballymun CCTV
This project is finally reaching completion. Ballymun Regeneration Limited signed contracts with POBAL on the 11th of December, the first 40% of the funding was realised and work on the various elements of the project has begun. All the contractors involved have been issued with contracts from BRL and DCC. The installation of the system commenced on the 18th of January and will take approximately 25 weeks to complete all the elements of the project. POBAL will release the second 40% of the funding when the first percentage has been spent and the final 20% on completion of the project. The new system will include the installation of 48 new cameras and the relocation of the existing DCC system that is currently located in Plunkett Tower to the new control room at Santry Cross. This project is now moving into its final construction phase. It is expected that the project should be complete by the end of August 2010. The control room is fully fitted out and most poles installed. The first cameras are due to be in place in mid June. The fibre link to the Garda Station is in place, they now need to install monitors in the Station.
Ballymun RAPID AIT
The Ballymun RAPID AIT has not met since December 2009, at this meeting the attendance was considerably reduced due to the uncertainty of the RAPID programme in 2009. The RAPID coordinators have been invited to a meeting with Minister Pat Carey on the 26th and the 27th of May. The Community Support Budget templates have been released and there is €6,906 allocated to the Ballymun Area. This template has to be completed and signed off by the AIT. This template is due in on the 4th of June. There is a RAPID AIT meeting scheduled for the 2nd of June to discuss the existing projects and to put in place a plan for the future.
Item No: 16
Ballymun Voids
May 2010
On Offer
Number
Address Type Vacant Remarks
Balcurris Park East 24 House 08/03/2009 Ready in 2 weeks
Coultry Drive
42 House 28/07/2009 Ready in 1 week
Dane Road
6 Bungalow 04/10/2009 Ready to let
Longdale Terrace
56 Apt 23/08/2009 Ready to let
Oldtown Road 40 House Ready in 2 weeks.
Silloge Gardens 87 House 07/12/2009 Ready to let
Total number of units on offer 6
Under Repair
Number
Address Type Vacant Remarks
Balbutcher Drive 19 House 04/05/2010 Work in Progress
Cairn Court 1 House 21/06/2009 Work in Progress
Carton Court 8 House 31/05/2009 Ready to let
Cromlech Court 19 House 04/10/2009 Long term repair
Dolmen Court 18 House 21/06/2009 Long term repair
Longdale Terrace
50 Apt 04/05/2010 Work In Progress
Silloge Gardens 63 House Long term repair
Sandyhill Gardens
85 House 30/04/2010 Ready in 6 weeks.
Sandyhill Gardens 141 House 18/08/2009 Long term repair
Silloge Close 1 Apt 06/09/2009 Long term repair
Termon Court 4 House 04/12/2009 Long term repair
Whiteacre Crescent
8 Apt 29/03/2010 Ready in 1 week
Total Under Repair 12