Waterloo Street housing scheme branded 'totally unsuitable'
'I don't know of any older people who would want to live on a street where they are almost guaranteed to be woken up in the early hours of the morning a number of times each week' - Emmet Doyle
The proposed over 55's accomodation planned for the bottom of Derry's Waterloo Street has been described as "totally unsuitable".
Aontu Ballyarnett representative Emmet Doyle, said the scheme needed to go back to the concept stage as it would be "totally unsuitable for housing due to noise from one of the city's busiest streets".
"It is no secret that we need more housing in this city, but it has to be housing that is placed appropriately for those who need it, and placing accommodation for older people at the foot of one of the noisiest streets in the city with access facing right onto it is totally unacceptable," said Mr Doyle.
"I don't know of any older people who would want to live on a street where they are almost guaranteed to be woken up in the early hours of the morning a number of times each week.
"The acoustic glass proposed as part of the plans will limit noise by up to ten decibels, but anyone who has been in Waterloo Street or Place in the early hours of a Saturday or Sunday morning knows there is no amount of glass that will stop the levels of noise that will inevitably emanate from a street that is almost exclusively entertainment venues.
"Aside from the obvious problems with the location, I have concerns about the fact that there are no parking facilities, and the fire escape at the back of the building is limited in space and faces the City Walls. If an older resident was bed-bound and needed to be evacuated to an ambulance for example, bollards would need to be removed from outside the premises at the front of the building to allow access in the midst of a one-way system.
"It is beyond me how Clanmil, Councillors, CCI and Planners thought this would be a good addition to the city centre and meet the needs of older people seeking accommodation. It's fairly obvious that their research didn't include standing in Waterloo Place at 1am on a Sunday morning to identify the noise levels and access difficulties, but they will expect people to live there," said Mr Doyle, who added: "This whole concept needs to be brought back to the drawing board – we need more housing in Derry, but not at any cost. People are rightly asking me what will happen to this building when, I believe inevitably, no-one will want to live there long term."