Dublin City Council has refused planning permission for a seven-storey aparthotel on Dublin’s Thomas Street in the Liberties.
The 93-bedroom apartment hotel scheme by Co Mayo firm Welthomas Property Ltd for Dublin 8 was opposed by Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh and local residents.
A planning report lodged with the application said that the scheme “proposes the regeneration of a small scale, vacant, urban infill brownfield site”.
The report said that the site was being used as a surface car park “which is a highly inefficient and unsustainable use of a scarce land resource in the inner city”.
The report said that the proposal represented an appropriate use of this brownfield site and will significantly enhance the attractiveness of the city’s tourism accommodation offer.
The council refused planning permission after concluding that the proposal was “overly dominant, would appear overbearing and incongruous on the streetscape”.
The council said that “furthermore it is considered that the proposal would have a negative impact on the archaeological and built heritage interests along Thomas Street”.
The planning authority also ruled that the scheme “would set an undesirable precedent for similar developments in the area”.
The council also refused planning permission on the grounds the applicant failed to submit a basement impact assessment in order to identify and assess the impact of the proposed basement construction on the surrounding environment.
In a joint objection, Deputy Ó Snodaigh and Cllr Máire Devine (SF) said: “We ask that the planning authority be cognisant of the oversaturation of hotels/ apart-hotels/co-living and student accommodation in the Liberties.
“This is additional transient accommodation while many of the local population are unable to secure a place to live,” they said.
In another objection, local resident Niamh O’Beirne told the council claimed that there “is a systematic attempt at erasing the character and culture of the Liberties”.
“The area is already saturated with hotels, aparthotels and Air BnBs,” she said.
A resident in the area for 14-plus years, Ms O’Beirne said: “I have seen the negative and alienating effects of so-called `development’ on the area. The building of transitory accommodation that serves only tourism does nothing to improve the lives and living conditions of those who live and work in the community.”
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