Sir, - Your Correspondent Eibhir Mulqueen writes that the Westin (formerly Hilton) hotel and office development just off College Green "originally covered three properties" (The Irish Times, September 16th). To my knowledge this is the eighth time The Irish Times, newspaper of record, has seriously misreported the extent of demolition involved on this crucial site. For example, your Environment Correspondent, Frank McDonald, reported (August 20th) on "the loss of several historic buildings" and (July 22nd) that Lancefort Company Ltd. opposed the scheme because it would demolish "five unlisted historic buildings and gut the interiors of others which are listed".
In fact Lancefort objected to the destruction (meaning demolition or facade retention) of, depending on how you count them, between seven and 11 important historic buildings - not three, not five, not several. Some architecturally unimportant buildings, including the Pearl Bar, will also be demolished and we took no interest in these. Nor did we object to the proposed interior guttings.
The scheme, on which demolition work has recently resumed, will completely demolish 3-4 College Street (List 2); will completely demolish 37-39 Westmoreland Street (Wide Streets Commissioners buildings of about 1800 in a conservation area); and will demolish 33-36 Fleet Street (List 1), 40-1 Westmoreland Street (List 1), 1-2 College Street (List 2) and thePearl Insurance Building on the corner of Westmoreland Street and Fleet Street (List 1) - while retaining their facades. The scheme represents a subversion of the listing system (which is supposed to safeguard historic buildings) since An Bord Pleanala said List 1 "preservation" allowed demolition behind retained facades. It had formerly been accepted that a preservation listing generally required retention of a building's whole shell or envelope.
The hotel will dwarf remaining listed buildings by increasing their height by two storeys - and by the equivalent of four storeys, from three storeys to seven storeys, over Fleet Street, leaving the extra storeys looking as if they have been stuck on with glue.
The extent of the demolition is important. We consider this to be the most significant demolition in Dublin City in 20 years. We sought a judicial review of the Bord Pleanala decision in order to establish that, being a "development with significant effects on the environment" it had required - under EU law and therefore, in this case, under Irish law - an Environmental Impact Assessment. The Supreme Court did not decide against us on this point, though it did on others. Interestingly, the European Commission is still pursuing Ireland over the matter. - Yours, etc.
Michael Smith,
Director,
Lancefort Company Ltd.,
Ormond Quay Upper,
Dublin 7.