Dublin City Council has refused planning permission for an eight-storey mixed use scheme close to the 1815 Ha’penny Bridge due to its impact on the historic setting of the ”iconic and unique” Liffey Quays.
Earlier this year SRM Book and Cook Ltd, which operates the Woollen Mills Eating House restaurant at Ormond Quay, lodged plans for the eight-storey development comprised mainly of apartments.
In response, the operator of The Grand Social night venue, Taurus Management Consultancy Ltd, along with An Taisce and Cllr Mannix Flynn (Independent) objected to the scheme.
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The council has found that the proposed development constitutes an overbearing, excessive and inappropriate form of development “in the context of the historic setting of the Liffey Quays which is iconic and unique to the built heritage of the Inner City”.
The council concluded that the development “would result in significant overdevelopment of this sensitive site to the rear of The Woollen Mills, a protected structure”. It said the proposed building “would cause serious injury to the amenity, legibility, special architectural character and setting of the protected structure and would cause serious injury to the visual amenities and presentation of the Liffey Quays Conservation Area”.
The scheme would set a precedent for development within and adjacent to historic buildings and protected structures within a conservation area, the council said. It said that due to its height, scale and massing, the proposed development would constitute a visually jarring building and adversely impact key views and vistas along the river corridor, the amenities of the protected structure and those within the Liffey Quays Conservation Area.
The SRM Book and Cook Ltd proposal consisted of six three-bed apartments, a two-bedroom penthouse unit and a restaurant at ground floor level.
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In a submission lodged by Brock McClure on behalf of Taurus Management Consultancy, Suzanne McClure argued that the scheme “would have a profoundly negative impact on The Grand Social and its ongoing commercial viability”.
Dublin city planning officer with An Taisce Kevin Duff told the council that “the Liffey Quays is of great cultural significance in the historical development and evolution of the city” and that this was the “wrong place for a pop-up tower”.
