Cobblestone Hotel plan draws more than 50 objections

More than 50 objections have already been lodged against plans to build a nine-storey hotel over and adjacent to the Cobblestone pub in Dublin’s Smithfield.

Marron Estates lodged plans for a 114-bedroom hotel at King Street last month. However, the scheme has provoked an angry reaction.

Documents lodged with the planning application state that the Cobblestone pub, which is a protected structure, is to be retained as part of the scheme.

A heritage assessment lodged with the planning application points out that the hotel that would be developed over the Cobblestone pub “will be set back from the building line in order to retain the existing character of the buildings at street level”.

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The report states that the existing buildings on site “are generally in poor condition and their survival is not guaranteed without some development of the site”.

A separate planning report by McCutcheon Halley says that the scheme has been designed to respond sensitively to the existing protected structures.

Objector Ros Caffrey from Cabra said the plans "would make the existing cultural facilities provided by the Cobblestone unviable with the demolition of the existing music venue at the rear of the bar".

A former local resident, Dr Lily Ní Dhomhnaill of Tralee, Co Kerry, said in her objection that the loss of the Cobblestone “would be catastrophic for Irish music”.

Ciaran O’Grady, currently living in Melbourne, said approval for the plan was “essentially removing the very reason that tourists want to visit Dublin – an authentic Dublin experience”.

He stated: "The vibrant cultural scene that the Cobblestone enables for locals – with no Arts Council funding – will vanish".

A decision is due on the application next month.