Dublin City Council has granted planning permission to plans for two retail kiosks for Grand Canal Square at Dublin’s Silicon Docks, in spite of significant opposition locally.
The council has granted permission to Rita Crosbie’s Fastwell Ltd for the kiosks despite opposition from the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Iput plc, the five-star Marker hotel and the lead designer of Grand Canal Square, Professor Martha Schwartz.
The planning application for the kiosks was lodged by Ms Crosbie’s Fastwell Ltd last September. Ms Crosbie is married to entrepreneur Harry Crosbie, who was a key player in the development of the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, the former Point Depot and the national conference centre. The couple live in the Grand Canal docks area.
The council has granted permission after Fastwell Ltd lodged revised proposals. Until now, the mesh-clad kiosk structures have provided pedestrian access to the basement car park at Grand Canal Square.
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Grand Canal Square at night can be a dark, menacing area, fraught, at times, with antisocial behaviour
The council planner’s report, which recommended that permission be granted for the change of use to retail kiosks, stated that Fastwell had addressed its concerns.
The planner’s report concluded that the proposal “would not impact the character of the landscaped designed plaza and detract from the block as the cultural Grand Canal Square hub”.
Advancing the case for the kiosks, William Doran, planning consultant for Fastwell, told the council that “women, generally, are unhappy at crossing the square alone at night”.
He saidthat “if the kiosks were brightly lit, it would significantly reduce the area of shadow, improve safety and the appearance of the plaza for the visually impaired”.
Mr Doran further contended that “Grand Canal Square at night can be a dark, menacing area, fraught, at times, with antisocial behaviour and not somewhere any individuals would venture unaccompanied, particularly in the vicinity of the metal boxes”.
He noted that permission was already granted for two retail kiosks at the current location in 2015, but this had expired after a High Court action was resolved in favour of Fastwell Ltd.
In response to the original proposal lodged last year, Prof Schwartz told the council that the proposal “will significantly alter the overall design of the square. We therefore strongly object to this planning proposal”.
Michael Davern, general manager of the Marker Hotel, told the council that “the proposal compromises the iconic design of the square by a world-renowned designer, and could be detrimental to the vista and aesthetics from and of the Marker Hotel”.
