Plans by the Irish arm of US property giant Kennedy Wilson for a nine-storey “world-class, mixed-use, office-led campus” at St Stephen’s Green in Dublin with the capacity to accommodate more than 3,000 office workers have been delayed by a fresh appeal.
This follows An Taisce lodging an appeal with An Coimisiún Pleanála against the grant of permission issued by Dublin City Council last month.
An Taisce did not object when the scheme was before the council as the council didn’t refer the application to An Taisce, which is recognised as a prescribed body under planning legislation where it must be notified by councils of certain planning applications.
In the appeal, Kevin Duff of An Taisce’s planning unit and An Taisce’s heritage officer, Ian Lumley, said they were appealing “on the grounds of location sensitivity” as the application warranted referral by the council to An Taisce under planning regulations and no such referral was issued.
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Last month, the council granted permission to Kennedy Wilson Investment Funds ICAV for revisions to its original office scheme that was granted planning permission at Stokes Place three years ago.
At the time, An Coimisiún Pleanála granted planning permission to Kennedy Wilsonto demolish an existing office complex at Stokes Place facing on to St Stephen’s Green and Harcourt Street, and the construction of an eight-storey office block.
In the new revised scheme the council has granted planning permission to add a ninth floor to the scheme and architects for the proposal Allford Hall Monaghan Morris said the scheme was “a landmark piece of architecture”.
However, in their seven-page appeal, Mr Duff and Mr Lumley stated that the proposed amendments above what had already been permitted did not represent a sensitive approach to the site and its various aspects, including views and vistas, prevailing building heights, adjacent protected structures and the overall setting on a major Georgian city square.
They said: “We do not consider that there is a basis for remedying the multiple adverse impacts of the proposal by condition or by revised plans. Accordingly, it is therefore recommended that planning permission be refused.”
The appeal said the proposal materially contravened the Dublin City Development Plan 2022-2028 and contravene the provisions of the Department of Heritage’s architectural heritage protection guidelines for planning authorities in relation to development affecting the setting of protected structures.
The proposal in increasing the scale and impact of the permitted development would have an adverse impact on the views from along the southern side of St Stephen’s Green, Mr Duff and Mr Lumley said.
