Council says Bewley's must retain cafe at Dublin site

Dublin City Council has given Bewley's permission to redevelop its Westmoreland Street premises, but only on condition that it retain a café and restaurant on its ground floor.

The coffee company had applied for permission to turn the existing café area into a new cocktail bar and restaurant as part of an extension to its hotel on the same site.

However, in one of 14 conditions attached to the planning permission, the council said the middle and garden rooms - the two dining rooms nearest the Westmoreland Street entrance - "shall be used for café and restaurant use only and shall not be used as a public house, or any other form of facility, whose main use involves the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises".

The local authority said it was applying this condition to protect the amenities of what was an architectural conservation area.

The council also stipulated that the stained-glass window by Pauline Bewick "shall be carefully removed . . . and hung from the ceiling of the garden room, adjacent to its current location and back-lit".

This was "to ensure continued protection and retention in situ of an important contemporary feature of the protected structure."

The council said the unit at ground-floor level at 11-12 Westmoreland Street had to be used as a high-order retail outlet, something which also was not in Bewley's plans.

In addition, the local authority turned down requests from Bewley's for a ramp, tables and chairs on the pavement of Fleet Street, saying such works would encroach on to land outside the application site.

It added that, before development begins, Bewley's must submit full details of existing and proposed fixtures and fittings "to protect the historic features, character and integrity" of the building, as well as details on a proposed new doorway to Price's Lane.

The application was the last of three made by Bewley's to the council relating to the site, which is owned by the coffee company. Earlier this month, the local authority granted permission to extend and refurbish the hotel to upper levels in Westmoreland Street.

A company spokeswoman said it was "delighted overall" by the decision, although it described as "excessive" a €43,500 development contribution sought by the council.

Bewley's is in separate negotiations with restaurant and bar-owners on the future of its Grafton Street café.

A spokesman for the Save Bewley's Cafés Campaign said some of the council's conditions were ambiguous, and the campaign was likely to appeal the decision to Bord Pléanála.