Green light for CitizenM hotel in Dublin 8 despite objections

An Bord Pleanála has given the green light to contentious plans for a 247-bedroom, nine-storey CitizenM hotel at Bride Street, Dublin 8.

The board has granted permission to Dublin St Patrick's Properties despite 10 separate appeals lodged by third parties against the Dublin City Council decision to grant permission for the four-star hotel.

The scheme involves demolition of the existing five-storey Molyneux House.

Some of those to appeal to An Bord Pleanála included Cllr Mannix Flynn (Ind), and two separate entities representing residents of Adelaide Court apartments.

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Some of the appellants’ concerns related to scale, massing and density of the development.

However, the board granted permission after concluding that the scheme would not seriously injure residential or visual amenities of the area or of properties in the vicinity.

The hotel will be CitizenM’s first foray into the Irish market. The Dutch-owned chain already operates globally, including in London, New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Ecomonic impact

An economic impact assessment lodged with the scheme by EY states that with the pipeline of Dublin hotel room supply forecasted to decline by 56 per cent this year due to Covid-19 , “CitizenM will therefore be a timely development”.

The EY report states that the development would contribute €21 million to the Dublin economy per annum when operational, provide 176 jobs and support 367 jobs during construction.

A number of appellants raised concerns about the concentration of hotels within 1km of the site. The EY assessment notes that CitizenM’s proposed location in Dublin 8 puts it in an area of low hotel supply and low projected pipeline.

The board inspector in the case recommended that permission be granted, noting that “the level of bed-spaces in Dublin city has been an issue for many years and that demand is consistently higher than beds available”.

Plans were first lodged for the scheme in June 2020 and the council granted permission in January 2021.