Clontarf baths in Clontarf, Dublin 3, may be in line for long-awaited redevelopment if a planning application submitted by the owner of the historic site is successful. Former Olympic swimmer Stephen Cullen, of Abbeybeg Ltd, has plans for the 5.5 acre coastal stretch which include the construction of a two-storey, flat-roof structure incorporating a cafe and restaurant, craft centre, shop and art gallery.
The building, say those involved, would "appear to sit on the water" when viewed from the land side. A boardwalk would skirt the perimeter of the site, enclosing a sheltered garden to the rear.
The walls of the new structure would be less than two metres higher than the existing walls of the baths and all trees and shrubs on the site would be retained.
Designed by architects McCullough Mulvin, the proposal includes a landscaped parking area at the front which would be developed in conjunction with Dublin Corporation Parks Department.
Straddling the Clontarf shoreline and including three acres of tidal waters, the baths have been privately owned for 100 years and were used as a public swimming facility and a water polo club until five years ago when they were closed to the public.
Cullen bought the site in 1997 with the intention of retaining the baths as part of an indoor leisure amenity. The plan was "knocked on the head", says Cullen, when the Westwood leisure centre, incorporating a 50-metre swimming-pool, opened in nearby Fairview. In 1998, the baths were withdrawn from the market when they went to tender but failed to make the guide price of £300,000 to £600,000.
In 1990, a planning application by a previous owner to build a two-storey restaurant and parking facility on the site of the baths was refused on the grounds that the height of the proposed building would obstruct the sea view.
CULLEN intends to invest £4 million to £5 million and says he is "very excited" about it. "The baths have been in a state of decay and have been a cause of annoyance for some time, with cider parties and anti-social behaviour, so it was time to do something about it," he says. He is confident the application will be "judged on its merits".
The Clontarf baths, like those in Blackrock and Dun Laoghaire, have been closed for more than five years and have gradually fallen into decay.
Architects McCullough Mulvin also designed the extension to Trinity College library and the redevelopment of Dun Laoghaire County Hall.
Their brief for the Clontarf baths site was to deliver a building sympathetic to the coastal landscape and the residential surroundings.
