We represent the community of St Michael's Estate in the regeneration process.

There have been many struggles through out Dublin, Ireland and the world over what regeneration should be about. For many it was about the physical transformation of an area or estate. What the houses, apartments, community facilities would look like. However many of these areas tend to suffer form huge social problems like unemployment, drug abuse and poverty. There also tends to be a lack of community facilities like crèches, playgrounds and sports facilities. Fortunately residents have been fighting hard to get their voice heard in the regeneration process, they are after all the ones who know best what their needs are and what is needed in their community to create a positive living environment.

When the process of regeneration begins often residents are consulted in a token way rather than identified as a group that have insider knowledge, lived experience and valuable input. Developers, planners and state officials are the ones given the power to make decisions on what happens to an area. However it is residents who have to live in these areas long after the developers and state official have moved on. So it is vital that residents are listened to and their suggestions and feedback taken onboard.

Principles underpinning St Michael's Regeneration

Regeneration will:

• Treat St. Michael's estate as a community
• Be holistic, integrated, comprehensive & view the estate in it's entirety
• Be democratic & inclusive
• Include the residents from start to finish
• Be a process of equality from start to finish of the process
• Be a process of the highest ethical standard
• Be visionary and ahead of its time
• Deliver a gold standard model of housing & community facilities & amenities
• See to it that information & plans are of substantial depth & quality & will be truthful, comprehensible, accessible and transparent to the community
• Insure consultation will continue until regeneration is complete
• Insure consultation will have a clearly mapped out time-frame & set of criteria.