Vision & Context

In the context of the current housing crisis and its own needs, the Province wishes to select an appropriate and experienced partner to deliver its vision and legacy in developing an ‘age friendly’ residential scheme, on part of its lands, at Mount Anville, off the Lower Kilmacud Road.

Over the past 20 months, members of the Province, supported by professional advisers, have been engaged in a creative process to converge the following three strands:

• Identify an appropriate use for part of the Province-owned lands at Mount Anville
• Create a legacy and social dividend for a community in which the Province has had a presence for over 150 years
• Provide ‘age friendly’ accommodation for both the now small number of ageing members of the Society in Dublin, and other older members of the local community

In recognising the need to maintain the project as a social legacy beyond the life of the Province, the Province has chosen to pursue this initiative in collaboration with an Approved Housing Body experienced in the delivery of age friendly social housing. During 2020 the Society agreed to work with Sophia Housing Association as a partner with a shared ethos and complementary expertise.

The Province’s own experience reflects challenges in wider Irish Society. The proportion of the Irish population aged 65 years and over is growing significantly, and housing provision has yet to respond. Accordingly, the Province would like to secure a partner which could deliver a socially integrated residential scheme responding to the housing needs of an older cohort of the Irish population.

It is anticipated that the Province will acquire between 8 and 10 units and Sophia Housing Association up to a further 14-16 units (subject to Dun Laoghaire – Rathdown County Council approval). It is anticipated that the Part V requirements of the overall development would be incorporated in the number of units acquired by Sophia Housing Association.

Ireland’s population is ageing, and the proportion of older persons is rising rapidly. According to the CSO’s Census 2016, the proportion of the population aged 65 years and older saw the largest increase rising 19.1% since 2011. Over half a million or 577,171 in this older age group lived in private households, an increase of 19.6%, while those in nursing homes increased by 1,960 to 22,762. Historically there has been little focus on the private accommodation needs of older citizens.

At 15.9%, there is a much greater proportion of people over 65 living in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown than anywhere else in Dublin, the region or the State. According to the CSO’s Census 2016, while the County’s overall population grew by 5.7%, there was a 16.1% increase in the number of people in the over 65 age group.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown’s Draft Development Plan (DLRDDP) 2022-2028 states –

“As demonstrated in the Housing Strategy (Appendix 2), the demographics for the County show a continued ageing of the population in excess of national ageing population trends. Ageing population and the need to provide suitable accommodation for older people has been recognised in the NPF and the RSES.”

According to Appendix 2 of the DLRDDP, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown has a greater proportion of people over 65 than in County Dublin, the EMRA region or in the State. It also has a smaller proportion of children in the 0-4 years age group than in all areas except for in Dublin City Council, and a smaller proportion of younger people in the 5-19 years age group than in the Dublin City Council and County areas. According to the CSO’s Census 2016, while the County’s overall population grew by 5.7%, there was a 16.1% increase in the number of people in the over 65 age group.

Census 2016 indicated that while the overall population of DLR increased by 5.7% between Census 2011 to 2016, there was a 16.1% increase in the number of people in the over 65 age group.

The location of the Province’s lands off the Lower Kilmacud Road offers an opportunity for residents to age-in-place, providing housing that is designed for all, age friendly and environmentally sustainable, close to amenities and public transport routes, and set in a landscape steeped in history and heritage.

Building on the deep connections to the Mount Anville Schools, the Province’s ‘age-friendly’ housing project envisages supporting common activities that can foster active inter-generational solidarity.

Principles, Values and Programme.

The project is firmly set within the mission, ethos and values of the Province and its partner, Sophia Housing Association – animated by principles of simplicity, wisdom and love. Many of the Province’s core values for nurturing childhood development directly translate to the success of a project for older persons.

In this regard, along with social provision, the project also aims to be inclusive of older people and families in the area, who may wish to right-size or down-size to more suitable and accessible housing that is currently not available on the market. The Old Farmhouse and Lower Walled Garden project envisages an accommodation mix of 1.0, 1.5 and 2-bedroom apartments, developed to a standard to support age friendly living. Initial feasibility studies suggest an estimate of 55 – 60 units across the development of which, over time, it is anticipated that up to 22 – 26 units will be oriented towards social provision (Sophia Housing Association) and the Province needs, while the remaining units are expected to be available for private rental or purchase. It is expected that the units occupied by Province members will be acquired, gradually, by Sophia Housing Association as the Province’s demands for accommodation reduce.

It is hoped that the Old Farmhouse and Lower Walled Gardens project will represent a spatial and environmental legacy to the Goatstown and wider community with whom the Society has shared so much.

Upper Walled Garden

A unique aspect of the project is its situation straddling the Old Farmhouse and a largely intact (protected) Victorian Upper Walled Garden and glasshouse (separate to Lower Walled Garden). The Upper Walled Garden and glasshouse offers the potential for a wonderful historic working garden landscape for shared leisure and learning activities for both scheme residents and school students. The Old Farmhouse, now vacant, is the original location of educational activity for primary school children. Re-purposing the site for age-friendly housing represents a tangible ‘circle of life’ for the Province, its mission, and the community it has served. The Province will seek to work with the preferred partner to identify the opportunity that the Upper Walled Garden presents.

For the Province, this project is about more than just housing. It represents a long-standing act of solidarity with the local Mount Anville and Goatstown community where it has been resident for the past 150 years. As the Province prepares for the completion of its mission to make known the revelation of God’s love, its educational legacy is instilled in the many thousands of hearts and minds of students who have passed through its doors; the project represents a new and equally brave enterprise in sharing God’s gifts with a community with which the Province has already shared so much.

Mount Anville Schools, neighbours, residents and other stakeholders in the area have been informed of the Province’s ambitions for the lands.