Controversial plans for a five-storey, 238-bedroom hotel and 12-storey office block in Houston's South Quarter have been refused planning permission by Dublin City Council.
The council refused planning permission to HPREF HSQ Investments Ltd after concluding that the scale, bulk and height of the scheme would adversely affect the setting and character of the nearby Royal Hospital Kilmainham (RHK). of international importance”.
The scale and massing of the hotel component of the design, which is adjacent to the RHK boundary wall, would appear imposing and have an adverse impact on its location, according to the planner's assessment that recommended a refusal.
The hotel would fill a need for visitor lodging in the area, according to planning consultants for the mixed-use project Declan Brassil & Co, while the proposed office component would consolidate and boost the HSQ's employment capacity.
The Council, however, also denied planning approval after coming to the conclusion that the planned development would look out of place in relation to the already-approved and nearby houses due to its architectural design, scale, and massing.
The Dublin City Development Plan aims to ensure that new development within the designated Regeneration Area does not adversely affect views within this "cone," and the Council has determined that the scheme would "adversely affect the identified Cone of Vision view" as the third leg of its comprehensive refusal.
An Bord Pleanala gave HPREF HSQ Investments Ltd. permission to build a five-block, 399-unit apartment complex earlier this year. One of the buildings will be 18 stories tall.
However, the former Irish Times environment editor Frank McDonald and architect Paul Leech have filed a judicial review petition with the High Court challenging that appeals board judgement, which was approved by former deputy chairman Paul Hyde. The High Court case has been postponed till the next month.
The revised proposal was opposed by McDonald, Leech, and An Taisce.
The Royal Hospital Kilmainham should be treated to the highest degree of international best practise in the conservation and protection of its landscape setting and overall ensemble, according to Kevin Duff, Dublin City Planning Officer for An Taisce, in response to the new mixed-use plan.
According to Duff, the current proposal is untimely in light of the results of the High Court's judicial review.
What the legacy of the present series of speculative development ideas directly east of the walled garden will be, he continued, "must be asked."
According to Frank McDonald's own proposal to the Council, the RHK "is the most significant edifice from the 17th century in Ireland, thus what is developed in its neighbourhood is of paramount importance."
According to McDonald, it would be far preferable if the current plan were abandoned or deemed premature pending the results of the legal review proceedings.
This would allow for "a more thoughtful, comprehensive, and more integrated proposal for the site in its whole," he claimed.
Paul Leech also urged the Council to deny planning approval in his contribution.
.png)
The opinions posted here do not belong to 🔰www.indiansdaily.com. The author is solely responsible for the opinions.
As per the IT policy of the Central Government, insults against an individual, community, religion or country, defamatory and inflammatory remarks, obscene and vulgar language are punishable offenses. Legal action will be taken for such expressions of opinion.