The Stephen's Green Club has won its appeal to An Bord Pleanála to remove a condition of planning permission for a much needed revamp.
While Dublin City Council granted permission for the refurbishment of 9 St Stephen's Green, a protected building with fine Georgian interiors, it imposed a condition which the club thought was unacceptable.
The club is looking to erect a new fire escape and lift in the space between numbers 9 and 10 St Stephen's Green necessitating the removal of a portion of the roof of the single-storey cochère or entrance hall and the gentleman's cloakroom and toilet on the ground floor and the provision of new toilets.
Dublin City Council's condition stated that an office on the first floor of the new fire escape extension should be omitted and the port cochère or entrance hall retained because its "unnecessary removal" would adversely affect the character of the protected structure.
However, the club said that the city council's proposal would be "structurally difficult and expensive to implement and would produce a most unsightly entrance hall to a very important protected structure".
The revamp also involves returning the existing members bar to its original use as a billiards/snooker room on the first floor of the 19th century building at the rear, repositioning of two bathrooms on the second floor, restoring existing bedrooms and providing five new bathrooms on the top floor of the 18th century house.
The premises is made up of an 18th century building to the front and a 19th century building to the rear. The oldest portion is believed to date back to 1730 and is possibly the oldest surviving building on St Stephens Green.
For years many of the club's bedrooms were inaccessible to members and there was inadequate means of escape. The club had difficulty insuring the premises and, according to the planning application, was conscious of the need to comply more fully with current fire and disabled access regulations.
The kitchen will be removed from the 18th century house and installed in the ground floor of a 19th century building, solving the problem of cooking smells wafting through the building. The current kitchen will be returned to its original use as a servery.
It will also involve the renovation of the old servants quarters built in the early 20th century to provide new staff bedrooms and bathrooms on the ground floor, and a new members' bar on the first floor and extra members residential accommodation on the top floor.
The old disused and decayed 1920s squash court will be demolished along with laundry in the yard at the rear to create an all weather winter garden. The original 18th century basement kitchen is to provide extra staff toilets, an exercise area and improved staff common room.
