DUBLIN CITY Council has reinstated its proceedings for the closure of Bar Code bar and nightclub and the demolition of parts of the Westwood Leisure Centre in Clontarf used by the club.
Although the High Court has upheld the Bord Pleanála decision to refuse permission to retain the nightclub, the council must still have an injunction granted by the courts before it can force the bar and club to cease trading and demand the demolition of structures built without planning permission.
The council must wait until February 17th to find out if Templeville Developments, owners of the leisure centre, will be appealing Mr Justice John Hedigan’s decision in the High Court yesterday to the Supreme Court.
If an appeal is taken, the council must wait until the end of those proceedings. If there is no Supreme Court appeal, the council will then seek a date to have its injunction against the unauthorised development heard in court.
A council spokesman said yesterday that there was no way of knowing when that injunction might be heard.
The council first began legal proceedings aimed at closing the bar, which had been the subject of a large number of complaints from local residents about noise and late-night revellers, in 2003. However, it suspended the action to allow for consideration of Templeville’s planning application to retain the bar.
The council refused permission in February 2008, and this was upheld by An Bord Pleanála the following September.
Local Fine Gael councillor Gerry Breen yesterday welcomed the court’s decision. “If the court had ruled any other way, it would have disadvantaged other businesses who play by the rules.”
The board had ruled that the proposed retention of Bar Code on the scale proposed for the sale and consumption of alcohol was “a non-permissible use” of the premises “in material contravention of the Dublin City Development plan”.
