FORMER PD leader Des O'Malley has said Ballsbridge will be "destroyed" if developer Seán Dunne's plans for a 37-storey tower on the site of the former Jurys and Berkeley Court hotels are allowed to go ahead.
Mr O'Malley was speaking on the first day of the Bord Pleanála hearing into the plans for the seven-acre site bought by Mr Dunne for €380 million three years ago.
The planning board received a record 127 appeals in relation to the planning application with an unprecedented 90 of those appeals in favour of the development.
Dublin City Council last March granted permission for the bulk of the development, including an 18-storey tower, but rejected the 37-storey building on grounds of excessive height. Mr Dunne is appealing to the board to reinstate the 37-storey tower.
Mr O'Malley, who lives on nearby Merrion Road, has not made a formal application but is among the objectors to the scheme.
The 36 appellants against the development include billionaire businessman Dermot Desmond, who is due to give evidence to the hearing in the coming days.
Mr O'Malley said the fact that the planners had given permission for the bulk of the scheme while the councillors had recommended against it showed a dichotomy between unelected officials and elected councillors.
"I know it is fashionable to look down on councillors but I'm a bit old-fashioned and I believe in democracy."
The development was inappropriate in its height, scale and density, Mr O'Malley said.
"It will be a sad day for Dublin if one of its most attractive inner suburbs is destroyed in the fashion proposed here, if this is allowed to go ahead."
The chairman of the Pembroke Road Residents' Association, Paul Walsh, said the tower was "like a massive bent erection" which was "so awful, so incongruous that even Dublin City Council with their absolute enthusiasm for earning building levies rejected it".
Mr Walsh said he realised his comments might be considered "rude" and said he was making them in a personal capacity.
The Danish architect who designed the development said he took inspiration for the 37-storey tower from the Pepper Canister Church on Dublin's Mount Street.
"We found a lot of inspiration in Georgian Dublin but there is a tendency for a city to become a bit of a museum and in that sense new development needs to happen so there can be a city for the future," Ulrick Raysse told the hearing.
Ian Ritchie, the Dublin Spire architect who was on the judging panel which chose Mr Raysse's design, said the development respected the environment of Ballsbridge and the tower was an elegant building which was the appropriate height for its location.
"While it is accepted the site is not in the heart of the city centre, I would be very surprised if the mayors of London or Paris would not grasp the opportunity to see developed such an outstanding urban and architectural proposal in their own cities."
He added that it was never envisaged that his Spire should be the tallest building in Dublin.
Planning consultant Tom Phillips, who represents 44 of the appellants in favour of the development, including Gate Theatre director Michael Colgan and public relations consultant Bill O'Herlihy, said the development would create 5,000 jobs.
Mr Phillips said that a draft local area plan (Lap), which would have allowed a landmark building in the area, was dropped by city councillors 10 days before the 2007 general election.
"The DCC planners were pro-active on this issue, but were frustrated by the refusal of the elected members to adopt or amend the draft Lap. An Bord Pleanála has the power to redress this issue."
The hearing continues today and is expected to last two weeks.
