Sir, – Kevin Duff (Letters, February 3rd) writes that, "The present generation has a duty to protect and conserve the city's historic urban landscape." This is partly true but is not a single or absolute duty. There are other duties, and rights too.
Every generation has a duty to make the most they can of what they have and to adapt to suit the circumstances. Every generation also has a right to revise the decisions and legacies left to it by previous generations and to determine which to keep and which to change or do away with.
The central core of Dublin, like most old cities, is somewhat “blocked” from efficient use by the presence of large numbers of buildings that were constructed to suit completely different times and situations, and for which retro-fitting is simply not appropriate.
Some of these buildings are of very poor quality by modern standards, and many are in a poor state of repair due to decades of under-utilisation. This under-utilisation, it should be recognised, is not a symptom of deliberate neglect by their owners but of their not being fit for many useful purposes. The right buildings in the right locations will be loved and looked after.
Most Georgian buildings are poorly suited for modern residential or commercial use, and there are simply not enough boutique law firms or cosmetic surgery clinics to fully occupy them all.
Planning in Dublin, and in Ireland in general, is hampered by a dogmatic unwillingness to embrace change or to entertain new or different ideas. The people who built Georgian Dublin made a wholesale decision to clear away swathes of older buildings that previously existed. Doubtless some of these were of historical or architectural merit but the needs of progress outweighed the duty to conserve.
Right or wrong, what is different is that Georgian Dublin was constructed over an extended period to a definite plan, and was not built by asking individual property owners to produce separate plans on the micro-level for approval. For too long planning in Ireland has operated this way. Development plans are drafted by different agencies and then ignored or changed, while developer-led construction continues to dominate.
Planning authorities and councils need to collectively create and agree long-term plans and to stick to them – and if historical buildings need to make way, then so be it. – Yours, etc,
JOHN THOMPSON,
Phibsboro,
Dublin 7.