LOCALS IN DUBLIN’S Liberties are gearing up to fight plans by Dublin City Council to turn allotments and a community garden into rapid-build housing.

The gardeners who use Weaver Square, beside the recently refurbished Weaver Park, say the council has reneged on a decision to provide an alternative space for the gardens, as building was always planned to take place on the allotment, and served them with a notice asking them to leave the allotment by the end of the year.

Those protesting the decision argue that there is vacant space currently offering no benefit to the local community that could be used for housing in the area, and stress that they are not against efforts to battle the housing crisis.

Locals are holding a garden party at Weaver Square this afternoon between 2pm and 4pm.

In a statement, Dublin City Council said efforts are underway to find an alternative location for the allotments and community garden, but that it  “is difficult to do this in an urban environment setting and it is also difficult to get the right balance between the urgent need for housing and the demand to retain open spaces such as this one”.

“There is a housing crisis in Dublin City and we have to make best possible use of the limited land bank that we have,” the statement added.

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