Sir, - I disagree fundamentally with Mr Sean Murphy's comments on Temple Bar Properties' urban renewal record (March 3rd). Everybody is entitled to their personal opinion on aspects of Temple Bar that do/do not appeal to them, but Mr Murphy is making general statements about the development that are simply ill informed.
At the outset, let me clarify that Temple Bar Properties do not have, any developments currently on site in the area east of Parliament Street. For our completed contemporary developments we have received a total of 14 awards, both national and international, and An Taisce has stated on the record that Temple Bar Properties has undertaken some of the best conservation work in old buildings. The public, too, has voted with its feet by participating in the other developments we have built: the Ark, the Green Building, and the new squares, to name but a few.
It appears there are two out of 32 developments - Essex Quay and Dublin's Viking Adventure with which Mr Murphy and some conservationists take issue. The various sides of these views on these buildings have already been covered at length in these pages.
Archaeology is an important part of Temple Bar Properties' urban renewal programme, but it is nonsensical for Mr Murphy to claim that excavations are used as an excuse for demolition of buildings. As regards the Isolde's Tower development to which he refers, I suggest that he goes to Exchange Street Lower, to see how dramatically the preserved remains of Isolde's Tower will be displayed when it is completed.
Regarding the development plans for the western sector, and Mr Murphy's suggestion for a timber "replica of Dublin's last Tudor cagewark house", our plans already include a slender wooden building - contemporary but with resonances of the medieval history of this area - as part of our development plans for 189 new quality homes, green parks, a creche, and a new pedestrian street. - Yours, etc.,
Managing director,
Temple Bar Properties,
Eustace Street,
Dublin 2.