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Irish Independent
9 hours ago
- Health
- Irish Independent
Plans for primary-care hub on site of Baggot Street hospital on hold amid residents' fears it may include methadone clinic
Several appeals have been lodged with An Bord Pleanála against the recent decision of Dublin City Council to grant planning permission for a proposed new medical centre to be located at the rear of the main hospital building on Baggot Street Upper. The HSE is hoping to develop the new primary-care centre, including a pharmacy, in vacant buildings that form part of the former Baggot Street Hospital site at the junction of Haddington Road and Eastmoreland Lane. The red-brick building, known formally as the Royal City of Dublin Hospital, has been closed as a hospital since 1987. The new facility, to be known as The Haddington Road Primary-Care Centre, will incorporate an existing three-storey Victorian building and a newly constructed building up to six storeys in height. However, the HSE has separately appealed against a condition imposed by Dublin City Council as part of the grant of planning permission to omit one floor of the proposed development because of the local authority's serious concerns about the height of the structure. The HSE claims the requirement to omit one of the six storeys would have minimal impact on the overshadowing of neighbouring properties but would make the development of the primary-care centre 'unfeasible'. The council's ruling is also being appealed against by several local residents and business owners, including the Pembroke Road Association. Although the residents' group recognised the need for a new primary-care centre in the area, it criticised its proposed height, which it said would be 'disruptive' and 'entirely excessive'. Together with other individual appellants, the Pembroke Road Association also expressed concern that a methadone clinic is being considered as part of the new facility. The group claims the layout of the proposed centre with an entirely separate pharmacy 'would indicate a methadone dispensing service'. ADVERTISEMENT However, Dublin City Council said any issue of the medical centre being used for dispensing methadone was under the remit of the HSE's operational governance and healthcare regulations rather than planning control. Planning files submitted by the HSE make no reference to any type of drug-treatment clinic being proposed. The HSE said it had identified a need to provide a new primary-care centre in a modern purpose-built building to serve the healthcare needs of the local community in the Baggot Street and Sandymount areas. The new facility will provide a range of services including public-health nursing, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, social work, speech and language therapy and dietetics, as well as a pharmacy. Separately, council planners expressed concern about the lack of any future plans for development of the former hospital building, which it described as 'a sensitive protected structure' and asked the HSE to re-examine its potential reuse. However, the HSE said a report into the potential use of the building for use for healthcare purposes, which was carried out in October 2022, had concluded that it would 'present a number of serious challenges in terms of structure, fire safety, access, services, conservation, cost and time'. The HSE claimed the proposed development would not involve any works that would affect the special character of the protected structure or result in the removal of significant original fabric or features of interest. The HSE's chief executive, Bernard Gloster, informed the Department of Health last year that the former hospital is surplus to its needs as it is no longer deemed suitable for delivering public healthcare services. Last month, the HSE indicated the building is to be sold on the open market as no state agency wanted to use the premises. whose condition has deteriorated over the years. However, the HSE said the absence of a confirmed use for the buildings should not hinder the development of the proposed primary-care centre. Council planners said a masterplan for the entire site would have been better 'in terms of a meaningfully developed site rather than the current proposal'. 'The redevelopment of part of this site without consideration of this structure is worrying and is not considered planning best practice,' they added. The council said it has included 'robust conditions' to the grant of planning permission as the response of the HSE to a wide range of concerns raised over the plans was 'disappointing'. 'Minimal alterations were made which did not address these concerns,' it observed. The council acknowledged that they might affect the functionality of the new facility but said it had to ensure the amenity of adjoining structures and the future development potential of adjoining sites was protected. It also expressed disappointment with the delay by the HSE in disposing of the main hospital as it had a detrimental impact on the fabric of the building that was being protected. A ruling by An Bord Pleanála on the various appeals is due by early October.
Irish Times
30-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Dublin 4 residents object to proposed health centre over fears of drug, STI treatment offering
Residents and business owners in Dublin 4 have objected to a primary care centre planned by the HSE over concerns it may be a 'massive drug and sexual treatment centre'. Plans submitted to Dublin City Council detail a primary care centre ranging in height from three to six storeys on part of the site of the former Baggot Street hospital, with objectors describing the project as 'over the top' and inconsistent with the local area. The centre would be developed at the junction of Haddington Road and Eastmoreland Lane, while the remainder of the complex is set to be sold on the open market as no State agency wanted to take it over. Other objectors lamented how the HSE has 'failed' to maintain the former Baggot Street hospital, a protected structure described as 'the most prominent structure in the Upper Baggot Street area.' READ MORE A central and consistent complaint was borne from the belief the development might provide addiction and sexually-transmitted-infection (STI) treatment services. Writing to Dublin City Council last month on behalf of the Pembroke Road Association, Susan McCarrick said the 'ambiguity' surrounding service provision raises alarm about the potential introduction of services 'fundamentally unsuited' to the location. A particular concern for the association, which represents a 'substantial' cohort of residents, property owners and civic stakeholders, is the possible provision of addiction-related services. Although services such as methadone maintenance treatment, needle exchange programmes and detoxification support are 'essential,' Ms McCarrick said they would be 'entirely inappropriate' due to the planned centre's proximity to schools, childcare and 'pedestrian-heavy streetscapes'. [ Former Baggot Street hospital building to be sold on the open market Opens in new window ] She said such services must be situated in locations that are 'purpose-designed, contextually appropriate and buffered from vulnerable populations.' Oonagh O'Hagan, owner and managing director of Meaghers Pharmacy Group which has a pharmacy on Baggot Street, said traders have experienced shoplifting, open drug dealing and loitering in the past when a methadone clinic operated there previously. 'We have serious worries about the safety of our store and our team,' she said, adding that staff previously faced 'threats with weapons, including syringes, knives and even guns'. 'I am not for a moment alleging that the service users are to blame for these issues, however it is unfortunate that these facilities attract those who wish to exploit those service users by dealing drugs, targeting them for antisocial behaviour,' she said. Noting that tourists frequent the area, Ms O'Hagan said the development could tarnish its reputation, 'as well as that of the capital city and Ireland as a whole.' Haddington Road residents Noah Dixon and Michelle Morrisroe claimed the planning application was being portrayed as a primary care centre for locals 'but it will be a massive drug and sexual treatment centre for a greater part of the Dublin southeast area'. Bryan Kearney, another resident of Haddington Road, wrote that a drug treatment centre and STI clinic would 'destroy the whole neighbourhood.' Noting the concerns raised over the centre's final use, the planning department said this falls under the remit of the HSE and granted permission saying it would provide a 'valuable service.' It set out several conditions including the removal of one of the floors. It also criticised the HSE over its delay in disposing of the former Baggot Street hospital, saying such a delay in refurbishing the protected structure would have had a 'detrimental impact on the very fabric that is to be protected'. Asked about the objections, a spokeswoman for the HSE said it is 'currently working to decide which services will be located in the new centre.' Those currently under consideration, she said, include GP services, public health nurses, social work and child protection services, child health, services for older people, and physiotherapy.
