Liberty Locals welcome renovation for the homeless

Liberty locals have responded positively to the announcement of plans to build eight apartments on New Street South to house homeless people.

The project is being funded by the Peter McVerry Trust, a charity organisation who aim to reduce homelessness in Dublin.

According to the Peter McVerry Trust, the site, which is currently abandoned, will be redeveloped into five single-bed apartments and three two-bed apartments.

Plans released by Dublin City Council show that the building will be attached to the south-facing wall of the pre-existing Atkinson House on New Street South, which is one of the few remaining Georgian buildings in the area.

Residents of New Street South have said that they are pleased to see the problem of homelessness in Dublin’s inner city being dealt with.

“It’s good to see that there are people out there who actually care for the homeless,” said local resident Tony Forde, “half the time people just walk past them and don’t even notice.”

Another resident, Patrick Malone, stated that he was pleased to see the derelict space be put to good use if only to make the street look cleaner.

“Anything is better than what’s there now. It’s all overgrown and people just dump their rubbish in there.” He said. “It looks awful.”

Malone also noted that the location was a good choice, given that Dublin 8 has an ongoing issue with homelessness.

“There are a lot of hostels in the area dedicated to the homeless.” Said Malone. “We’re close to the city centre here so there’s plenty of people living on the streets.”

Work on the site will get under way in September upon approval from Dublin City Council. The apartments are projected to be finished by September 2020.