Irish Independent

Green light for new hotel near Twitter’s Dublin HQ

- Gordon Deegan

THE O’Callaghan hotel group has secured planning for a new eight-storey hotel on a site beside Twitter’s Dublin HQ in spite of local opposition.

An Bord Pleanála gave Persian Properties Ltd the go-ahead for the 158-room hotel on Cumberland Street in Dublin 2.

The new hotel adds to The Green, The Davenport, The Alex,andTheMont­whichis currently undergoing a €10m renovation and due to open later this year.

The decision upholds an earlier decision by Dublin City Council which was appealed to An Bord Pleanála by the Boyne Street Residents Group.

The appeals board said the proposal would not seriously injure the visual or other amenities of the area or of adjoining residentia­l properties.

It said the proposal would also be acceptable in terms of impact on architectu­ral and cultural heritage of the area.

In their appeal, the residents had argued that the proposal would add an additional hotel complex to a confined space which is saturated with three existing hotels and an area with significan­t Airbnb usage.

They also argued that the locals include elderly persons and families with small children and the proposal would have significan­t adverse impact on residents during constructi­on and operationa­lly through late-night disturbanc­e.

In response, consultant­s for the applicants said the site is centrally located and ideally suited for hotel and that its design sought to minimise impact on adjoining land uses including existing homes. Separately, the appeals board has refused planning permission for a 71-bedroom hotel at Enfield in Co Meath.

The hotel plan by Urban Synergy Investment­s Ltd was part of a large mixed-use developmen­t proposed that also included 99 apartments, 36 townhouses, a 65-bedroom nursing home, a service station and a number of retail units.

A decision by Meath County Council to give the go-ahead was appealed by local residents along with Tesco Ireland, SuperValu and a third appeal by three individual­s.

The mixed use developmen­t ranged from two storeys to eight storeys.

Opponents argued that it was “an out of centre, car-dependent location which will have a negative impact on the viability and vitality of the town core”.

The appeals board refused planning permission after ruling that the plan would produce a developmen­t which would result in overdevelo­pmentofthe­site.

 ??  ?? Expansion: O’Callaghan group, which owns The Davenport in Dublin, is to build the new property
Expansion: O’Callaghan group, which owns The Davenport in Dublin, is to build the new property

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Ireland