PLANS TO OPEN Ireland’s largest hostel for rough sleepers on Dublin’s Aungier Street have been shelved after the Peter McVerry Trust announced that it will open a family hub at the site instead.

The announcement follows a series of protests from locals over proposed hostel, as well as the threat of separate legal actions from independent councillor Mannix Flynn and local businesses.

The trust’s deputy CEO Brian Friel and Dublin City Council’s Brendan Kenny were met with hostility at local meeting to discuss the development on Tuesday evening.

The meeting was called after it emerged in recent weeks that the trust would use Avalon House as a hostel for rough sleepers from the end of January.

It was initially intended that the trust and the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) would use the hostel to provide overnight accommodation for 150 adults, which would have included cold weather beds for rough sleepers during winter.

However, many locals objected to the plans, citing the number of homeless hostels already in the area, the proposed hostel’s proximity to nearby primary schools, and the proliferation of student accommodation in Dublin 8.

In a statement this morning, the Peter McVerry Trust announced that, arising from these concerns, the building would be used as a family hub instead.

“Our planned new hostel at Avalon House was a sincere effort on our part to reduce street homelessness in the city,” the trust said.

“However, given the concerns raised about the concentration of hostel beds in this area of the city and following consultation with the DRHE, we now propose to reconfigure Avalon House into 30-suite family hub to support families out of B&Bs and hotels and assist them into housing.

“This will contribute considerably significantly to the plight of homeless families who need support to move towards housing.”

The group also said it had a track record of “forging strong links with communities across the city” and would continue to do so in future.

A spokesperson for the DRHE declined to comment on the announcement.