DUBLIN CITY Council has asked for further information before making a decision on plans for a €1.25 billion redevelopment of a site centred on the former Carlton cinema on O’Connell Street.
Planners have sought the information in relation to 14 aspects of the “Dublin Central” scheme which proposes more than 100 apartments, the same number of shops and a sloping public park at roof level with panoramic views over the city.
Over 20 objections were received to the proposals.
Developer Chartered Land has been asked to supply more details to address the “inherent design challenges” posed by the height of the public space and the need to ensure public access.
Planners also say that access to the sloping garden should be free and open to all.
They say they support the proposal for a civic space facing on to O’Connell Street. However, they want it changed so the design adheres to “sympathetic, restrained, formal and classic proportions expressed in contemporary idiom”.
They also want the proposed retail anchor store which will front on to O’Connell Street to acknowledge the “classic, historic and stone language” of the street by using more natural stone in the facade “in a contemporary idiom”.
In relation to the Moore Street frontage, the planners want more space devoted to ground-floor restaurants and cafes, and larger floor areas to support multi-ethnic food operations.
The developers have also been asked to take account of the concerns of the council’s conservation officer.
This includes his opinion that No 45 O’Connell Street dates from the mid-18th century, and the impact of 10-storey buildings adjacent to Parnell Street on view of Parnell Square and the Rotunda.
