Dublin City Council urged to acquire site of The Complex following closure

Green Party Councillor Janet Horner, the Social Democrats and People Before Profit are among those calling for state investment into the site.

The Arran Street arts venue, which comprised a performance space, a gallery, a jazz club and artists studios, was given a notice to quit in December and subsequently closed on January 14th.

Vanessa Fielding, the director of The Complex previously met with former Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe to propose a co-purchase agreement with a private developer, but these meetings did not result in any funding commitments after Donohoe left office. Fielding has since said that despite attempts to secure the future of The Complex, no "workable solution" could be found.

Last week, however, Green Party Councillor Janet Horner urged Dublin City Council and the Government to acquire the site and deliver a cultural venue alongside social, cost rental or affordable housing on the upper floors.

Cllr. Horner told the Central Area Committee that Minister for Culture Patrick O'Donovan would be "very happy" to secure the site of The Complex in conjunction with DCC. A "commitment" from DCC is now required in order for the site to be developed and brought into public ownership, Cllr. Horner said.

A manager from DCC said that they have engaged their housing unit to explore possibilities of developing housing on the site and that a feasibility study will need to be carried out to assess costs and capacity.

Sinéad Gibney, the Social Democrats' Culture Spokesperson meanwhile has criticised the "continued neglect" and "lack of investment" that has resulted in the closure of cultural spaces.

"The closure of the Complex and uncertainty about its future is the latest example of a national pattern of Arts Centres and artists' spaces being plagued with a lack of stability and support which they should expect from central government," Deputy Gibney told JOE. "We need the state to seriously invest in the future of the arts, and protect the spaces we already have."

Deputy Gibney added that "what we have in existing spaces is so much more difficult to build from scratch".

"The Complex is a key example of a space that can and should be kept as an arts and cultural space, and I'm calling on the Minister and Dublin City Council to work together to make that happen," she said.

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy told JOE that Dublin is "dying as a result of the loss of cultural and artistic space after space."

He added: "The Complex must not be permanently lost too. Dublin City Council should buy this site and develop it as a cultural space as well as the delivery of social housing."

Feature image: The Complex Dublin on Facebook