TEMPLE Bar Properties has announced an action programme to deal with problems that have arisen in the development of Dublin's designated cultural quarter.
Ms Laura Magahy, managing director of TBP, the State development agency for the area, said yesterday it was putting forward the proposals in the context of the current debate about Temple Bar, "which we very much welcome".
She said TBP "accepts that there are a number of challenges which must be met to maintain and build on the strength of the area", including the consequences associated with the proliferation of pubs and pub-hotels.
The 20-point programme says no planning permission should be granted by Dublin Corporation for any more pubs, extensions of existing pubs or pub-hotels (other than for first-floor residents' lounges) in the area.
Echoing the guidelines issued by Temple Bar Renewal Ltd, the State company responsible for approving developments for tax incentives, it says no planning permission should be granted for more nightclubs or discos.
Ms Magahy said there were enough pubs in Temple Bar. She refused to concede, however, that TBP itself was in any sense to blame for its own role in creating four major pubs in the area and facilitating the extension of three other licensed premises.
She said it was a matter for Dublin Corporation to "promote an appropriate mix of future developments in the area", adding "that the restrictions now being proposed by TBP should be incorporated in the city plan "as a matter of urgency".
TBP also believes that no more restaurants or take-aways should be approved on the streets identified by its sister company, TBR, and that both tax incentives and planning permission should encourage more apartments rather "than short-stay hotels or hostels.
It wants businesses in the area to sign a "charter", on the model of Rennes, in France, which would recognise the rights of residents, shoppers, visitors and employees in cultural activities, specifically in relation to controlling noise and litter.
The programme is also aimed at promoting more shopping.
Ms Magahy said one of TBP's aims was to make the area more attractive to families and young people. She pointed out that crime rates in Temple Bar had declined by a "remarkable" 50 per cent since the introduction of closed- circuit TV cameras.
As part of its action programme, TBP is inviting interested parties to make written submissions on the area's future by July 31st with a view to holding a public forum next autumn.
