Dublin City Council has refused planning permission to UK pub giant, JD Wetherspoon, for a contentious plan to construct a 13ft high acoustic glass wall that would allow it to reopen a courtyard at its Keaven’s Port hotel on Dublin’s Camden Street.
Local residents had objected, claiming that the application would turn a super-pub into a mega-pub by reopening the courtyard.
JD Wetherspoon closed its beer garden at the venue in April 2022 in response to noise complaints from local residents over its operation. The beer garden has remained closed.
The plan for the 13ft high acoustic glass screen is the firm’s second bid to address those noise complaints. In 2023, JD Wetherspoon abandoned plans to erect a 43ft high sound barrier, dubbed “taller than the Berlin Wall” by one objector, after strong local opposition.
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But the council has refused planning to the glass screen proposal after concluding that the proposed development would constitute an unacceptable overdevelopment of the open courtyard area to the rear of the protected structure at No. 3 Camden Street Upper.
It concluded that the proposal effectively infills “the remaining open area between the rear elevation of one of the protected structures and the modern hotel structure behind”. This, it said, would result in serious injury to its special architectural character and setting and would contravene policies in the Dublin City Council Development Plan 2022–28.
The council concluded the proposal would set an undesirable precedent for similar type development.
The nine page planner’s report recommending refusal confirmed that a report by the council’s environmental health officer had recommendedthat permission be granted.
Nine objections were lodged against the scheme. In one, local residents Colm Doyle and Peter O’Reilly contended that the arrival of Wetherspoon into the neighbourhood had coincided with an increase in antisocial behaviour in the area.
Eddie Gershon, a spokesman for JD Wetherspoon, said on Friday: “As you can appreciate, Wetherspoon is disappointed not to be able to proceed at this stage with our plans for the garden area. We will consider the implications of Dublin City Council’s decision and discuss the situation with our planning advisers before making any further comment.”
