Housing

Developer rails against ‘diabolical’ process as Coolock housing plan is rejected

Having rezoned the former Chivers factory site from commercial to residential, developer Andrew Gillick wanted to build 550 affordable units for ‘normal people’. But then began a long and ill-fated email exchange with the Land Development Agency

The former Chivers factory site in Coolock in Dublin 17: Andrew and Maurice Gillick’s social housing idea never got off the ground

On Monday, February 7, when Andrew Gillick first emailed the Minister for Housing's office, everything started quite cordially.

“Good performance last week on Prime Time,” Gillick, an Irish property developer, said in the opening line of his email, referring to Darragh O’Brien’s head-to-head debate with Eoin Ó Broin, Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson, on RTÉ.

Then Gillick got right to his point. “The housing crisis shows no sign of abating and I am here to help. ...