Plans for a new 54-bedroom hotel in Dublin’s north inner city have been approved, in part because the site was considered unsuitable for residential housing.
Dublin City Council has granted planning permission for the eight-storey development with a rooftop bar and restaurant on Meetinghouse Lane near Capel Street.
Property firm Development Ocht, led by businessman Pádraig Kehoe, had originally sought permission to refurbish and extend the existing buildings on the site to provide a nine-storey structure with 65 guest bedrooms.
However, the council set a condition that planning permission was granted on the basis that one floor with 11 bedrooms be omitted from the plans due to concerns about the height of a development that included it.
One of the objectors to the plans was Labour councillor Declan Meenagh, who said Dublin did not need any more hotels.
“This development will not contribute to solving the housing crisis. It would be much better used as apartments that people can afford to live in,” said Mr Meenagh.
However, council planners accepted arguments raised by Development Ocht that a residential development on the site would experience specific design challenges compared with other types of commercial development.
The company claimed the constrained nature of the site and its proximity to neighbouring properties would provide a poor standard of residential development.
The company said it would be unable to meet the dual aspect requirement on housing guidelines, while the provision of private, communal and public space would also be limited in such a development.
The council also accepted that there was a demand for hotel use in Dublin city apart from the current collapse in international tourism due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
