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The HARP Framework Plan of 1996 stressed the importance of Community Consultation. Indeed, a multi-disciplinary working group within Dublin Corporation devised the Plan after frequent consultation with various Community groups within the area. These groups articulated a general concern that urban regeneration to date had been based on property development rather than a fuller realisation of social and economic potential. The main issues that arose in this process of consultation were:
- Gaining access to the employment opportunities offered by renewal through appropriate training and the establishment of enterprise centres.
- The need for a premises to allow the various community initiatives to grow
- The problems in accessing education due to early school leaving and lack of motivation
- The poor quality of the urban environment in the area and the introverted nature of new private residential developments
- The need to conserve the overall character of the area
- The high levels of traffic and pollution suffered by the area
- The lack of leisure facilities
Many of the strategies proposed in the HARP Plan seek to address these concerns. One of the primary methods of ensuring the community benefits from urban renewal is the Urban Renewal Tax Incentive Scheme for the six Dublin City Council Integrated Area Plans (IAPs) including the HARP area. This scheme applies to income tax relief on the cost of new construction or refurbishment of buildings within the designated areas. In order to qualify for the incentives each development must contribute some element of 'community gain', in the form of either facilities/opportunities within the physical development or financial contributions, of up to 15% of the site value, to finance the provision of community facilities.
The provision of social housing is a chief method of providing 'community gain' and an integral part of the regeneration of the HARP area. Since the adoption of the HARP Plan many social housing projects have been implemented including 24 units at North King Street/Halston Street and 75 units at Parnell Street/Jervis Street.
Another benefit to the area has been the establishment of a community centre in a specially designed building on North King Street. This community resource building, designed by Derek Tynan Architects, will principally be used by the Markets Area Community Resource Organisation (MACRO), an established community organisation which provides a range of services to the community including; information services, adult education and training, counseling services, local employment services, senior citizens care and community and youth services.
The building itself is clad in a distinctive uniform of blue engineering brick and is entered from Green Street, which is seen as an extension to the public realm of the street. The space also brings natural light into the centre of the building. The central space divides the plan of the building between a circulation/service zone on the southern boundary adjacent to the debtor's prison and the various use of areas of the building which are organised onto North King Street and Green Street.
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