SEVEN DERELICT, COUNCIL-OWNED properties at a prime location just outside the perimeter of the Phoenix Park in Dublin look set to remain vacant for the foreseeable future.

Dublin City Council bought seven out of the eleven Mulberry Cottages, located in Chapelizod village near the Phoenix Park, under a compulsory purchase order in 2022.

It had planned to refurbish the homes and put them back into use.

The properties, many of which have been derelict for nearly two decades, were the subject of a December report by the council that detailed a number of issues undermining plans to renovate the properties.

According to council chief executive Richard Shakespeare, responding to Green Party Councillor Ray Cunningham who asked this month if the properties can be sold, the primary issue facing the site is the limited access.

The cottages are located on a narrow section of the road leading into Chapelizod village. As a result, renovation work could face problems when it came to the location of a site office, receiving deliveries and parking.

The homes are located at an architectural conservation area and are in close proximity to St Laurence’s National School, located at the rear of the properties, and St Patrick’s National School, less than 300 metres away. 

Shakespeare told councillors a “broad outline plan” was agreed and the council plans to immediately clear a communal area at the back of the properties, next to a path leading into the Phoenix Park, and knock down extensions which were in “poor conditions”.

He added that the council also intends to board and steel up the rear access to the site.

“Once these works are carried the housing team will consider what options are open to the council to bring this back into use,” Shakespeare said.

Cunningham this month highlighted how four cottages on the same terrace that remained within the private market have since been refurbished and restored by private owners. An online listing indicates one of the properties is now in turnkey condition and accepting tenants.

Cunningham told the Dublin Inquirer this month that dereliction is a problem in Chapelizod and risks impacting the overall status and look of the small,  historic village.