The biggest higher education development in the State’s history will transform Dublin’s North inner-city for DIT student’s, however, while current students welcome the transformation, many locals fear it.
Over the coming years, more than 20,000 students will be based at Dublin Institute of Technologies new Grangegorman campus. Construction is soon to be underway on the first of several buildings including faculty buildings for DIT, apartments for students and a gym.
Many locals are concerned about the socio-economic effects of the large-scale developments as they will change the character of the area considerably.
Apartment blocks for about 5,000 students are planned for the north-inner city with many locals fearing the area will become overwhelmed with students, parties and anti-social behaviour at night which will have a significant impact on the residential area.
One local resident said, “Realistically we are going to be living in a noisy construction site for the next 10 to 20 years.”
Approximately 1,200 students are based in DIT’s new campus, which includes a number of old restored buildings. Student numbers will rise dramatically over the next 2 years.
Brian Norton, DIT’s president said, “It’s an exciting time for the college, for decades Dublin Institute of Technology has been scattered across dozens of locations in the capital. Soon, everything will be based on a single campus.”
“I love being in the city centre at the minute because I’m in Aungier street for college but having one campus will definitely be better especially for accommodation as those in DIT who are not from Dublin really struggle with accommodation and finding where is the handiest to live because the college is so spread out over the city”, DIT student Kate McGuinness says.
“Having a decent gym, pitches and an SU will be great because at the minute all the amenities are fairly mediocre especially for sports, teams are travelling around the city for training, having everything in one place will suit DIT students so much more”, said DIT student Jessica Toal.
Small business owners also have mixed views with some seeing the developments as bigger numbers on their doorsteps while others fear being pushed aside by developers.
By: Colleen Brady
Image Credit: Flickr