The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Mr Michael Conaghan, is to seek a variation to the Dublin Development Plan in coming weeks in an attempt to secure the future of the city's landmark Bewleys cafés.
Mr Conaghan is to table a motion at Dublin City Council seeking an amendment to the plan to prevent the historic cafés being turned into retail outlets.
In a separate development, the Campbell Bewley Group has moved closer to reaching an agreement with restaurant and pub owners Mr Jay Bourke and Mr Eoin Foyle about jointly operating a redeveloped café at Grafton Street.
While neither party will comment on the talks, it is understood plans have been drawn up to incorporate the premises into the Café Bar Deli restaurant chain, which was started by Mr Bourke and Mr Foyle at the former Bewleys George's Street café.
Mr Conaghan said Bewleys and any potential business partner "would be well advised to pay attention to what we are planning".
He said he expected the motion to amend the development plan to be passed "very easily" by the council.
The motion, to be tabled once the plan is enacted next month, states that "planning permission shall not be granted for a change of use in respect of a premises the structure of which is listed on the Record of Protected Structures where that existing, previous or recent use is an intrinsic aspect of its special social, cultural and/or artistic interest of those premises".
Mr Conaghan said Bewleys "may well try to rush through a deal" before the amendment comes into force. However, any attempt to change the development plan before it came into force on March 6th would be open to a legal challenge, he said.
The Save Bewleys Cafés Campaign is separately appealing to An Bord Pleanála a decision by the council to grant planning permission to Bewleys to redevelop its Westmoreland Street premises.
