RESIDENTS LIVING NEAR the site of the new National Children’s Hospital have expressed disappointment at a reduction in the number of meetings with the hospital’s development board, citing issues they feel are still affecting the local area.
Meetings between local and hospital representatives have been cut down from monthly to once per quarter.
According to the hospital side, the reduction was in response to a reduced number of issues being raised as the construction nears its final stages.
However, some residents have described ongoing concerns about how the works are impacting their area, including noise pollution and reduced access to the local park.
Project management said that the number of issues being reported had dropped compared to earlier stages of the development, leading to the reduction in meetings of the Residents Project Monitoring Committee.
The committee includes representatives of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB), residents, and Dublin city councillors.
Nearly six years since construction began on the new National Children’s Hospital, work is set to be finished by the end of next year, but local residents say the project has significantly intruded on the community.
Residents who spoke to The Journal voiced disappointment at the reduction in the number of meetings, the closure of a hotline for communicating issues, and the imposition of the construction on the community’s park.
One resident said that long hours of noise from the construction have been disruptive for locals, while another said that they often observe litter near the site.
Located in Dublin 8 next to St James’ Hospital, the site for the hospital was selected in 2012 after An Bord Pleanála refused permission for an initial plan to develop it at the Mater Hospital in Phibsborough on the grounds that it would negatively impact the skyline and the historic character of the area.
During the lifetime of the project, locals have raised concerns about noise pollution, parking congestion and reduced green space, with multiple homeowners bringing a case to the High Court claiming the works caused damage to their homes.
Meanwhile, inside the site, construction has been held up on several occasions by arson attacks, though no incidents have occurred in the last three months, according to the project director.
A €10,000 reward for information, first offered at least ten months ago, is still being advertised on the construction site.
Speaking to The Journal at the site of the new hospital, NPHDB Project Director Phelim Devine said that meetings with the residents’ committee were moved from quarterly to monthly because there were “very few issues” remaining.
NPHDB Communications Manager Rhonda Evans said that “as the building has moved inside and it’s not impacting on their adjacency, we’ve moved the meetings from monthly to quarterly”.
Similarly, she said the dedicated 24-hour helpline which was previously operating had become “very quiet” and was replaced with a direct line to the security guard.
Some locals have claimed that the construction of the hospital has caused damage to their homes.
In 2017, residents from the O’Reilly Avenue, Ceannt Fort, and Mount Brown areas of Dublin 8 brought High Court proceedings against the NPHDB and BAM, the construction company.
They claimed their homes were damaged as a result of works, which the other parties denied, and sought an injunction preventing works on the site until steps were taken to remediate and protect their property from further damage.
The action was settled in November.
“There was a High Court case that came to a closed agreement,” Evans said.
“We’ll work with the residents on that issue but we have come to an agreement with them.”
Running along the Luas line beside the hospital is St James’ Linear Park, a one-kilometre stretch of public space from the Suir Road Bridge to the Basin View.
To locals’ dismay, parts of the park have been subsumed into the construction site, leaving a narrow section of path and grass.
One resident said it’s been a particular loss for locals living in nearby homes that do not have gardens.
Some areas of the park have or will be upgraded as the hospital is built, such as one space near the east of the building where a new seating area has been added.
Evans said that Dublin City Council “engaged landscape design teams to meet with residents to understand what their requirements are, what they would like – within reason, because it is a Luas track as well, so there has to be that safety element to it too”.
Proposals include widening a stretch of the current path to create a pedestrian and cycle route; planting trees; and a new play area, and it’s hoped that the final park will be a valuable community area.
However, prefabs on the side of the site next to the Luas track that are taking up space previously encompassed by the park are expected to remain in place until the end of the project, which is due to be completed by the end of next year.
Inside the site, the development of the new hospital was plagued with arson attacks for many months.
Gardaí were brought in to investigate the fires but a culprit has not been identified.
Devine said that there have been no arson incidents in the last three months.
“BAM has taken measures on site with security cameras to try to mitigate or hopefully eradicate the issue,” he said.
“We don’t know it’s fully gone away but we’ve had no incidents for three months thankfully and please God we won’t have any more.
“We don’t know if that person or persons have left the site or what, you don’t know because they weren’t caught, but it was fully investigated with the guards.”
Some of the more recent attacks were considered minor incidents, such as a paint can being set on fire.
However, Devine said the events are “very disruptive” because workers have to evacuate the site.
Evans agreed: “It’s not really in terms of damage to the building, it’s more in terms of time.”
“And it’s damaging people because the subcontractors are in on contracts and I don’t know if they’re compensated. It really is very disruptive to the people trying to earn a living and get the hospital finished,” Devine said.
Posters on the site describe a €10,000 reward for “information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person causing criminal damage or arson on this site”.
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