£20m city redevelopment plan announced by Dunnes

Dublin's South Great George's Street is shortly to be revitalised as a shopping street after being in decline for more than three decades. Dunnes Stores has lodged a planning application to redevelop a large section of the street for shopping and a new corporate headquarters. One of the main features will the opening of a pedestrian link between South Great George's Street and the newly restored gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle. Access will run from a point opposite Fade Street to the castle grounds, where the Clock Tower is shortly to be given over to the Chester Beatty Library.

South Great George's street was one of Dublin's primary shopping streets until the closure of Todds department store in the 1960s. In more recent years the street has begun to bounce back with the advent of ethic restaurants and cafe bars. The £20 million redevelopment scheme will cover up to one-third of the entire frontage on the west side of South Great George's Street, running from Stephen Street towards Dame Street. Only one building in the entire block, the Long Hall bar, will be unaffected.

The retail element will include 13 shops on both South Great George's Street and Stephen Street. Dunnes plans to use the three and four-storey office blocks over the shops as a centralised headquarters for around 750 staff. Mr Jimmy O'Connor, of architects Arthur Gibney and Partners, who have designed the new 250,000 sq ft block, said that more than 60 per cent of the facades would be retained and nothing of any architectural or historic interest would be demolished.