Opponents of high-rise schemes in Dublin city centre have warmly welcomed An Bord Pleanala's decision to reject plans for a cluster of glass towers at George's Quay, opposite the Custom House.
Apart from a central office tower, rising to a height of 73.7 metres - 15 metres higher than Liberty Hall - the proposed scheme included two interlinked high-rise apartment buildings, a fitness centre, an atrium, street-level retail facilities and underground parking.
In its decision to refuse planning permission for the Cosgrave Property Group's £180 million project, designed by international architects Skidmore Owings and Merrill, the board said it would be "contrary to the proper planning and development of the area".
Given the site's location at the edge of Dublin's historic core, close to buildings and areas of architectural heritage value, it said the height and bulk of the scheme "would detrimentally affect the historic precincts of the Custom House, Trinity College and the Liffey Quays".
The height and bulk of the proposed development would "materially contravene" the policies of Dublin Corporation's current city plan, adopted last April, and "does not take sufficient account" of the Dublin Docklands Area Master Plan, adopted in December 1997.
The third reason for refusal cited by An Bord Pleanala - in a decision signed by its sole architect-member, Mr Michael Wall - was that the height and bulk of the scheme would "seriously injure the amenities of residential property in the vicinity" due to overshadowing.
An Taisce, the Irish Georgian Society and the Dublin Docklands Development Authority as well as local residents and Cllr Ciaran Cuffe (Greens) all appealed against the corporation's approval of the project last September.
The corporation decided to grant planning permission, subject to the height of the central tower being reduced from 100 to 80 metres, on the recommendation of the city architect, Mr Jim Barrett, who felt it was a better scheme than a 1991 plan for the site.
The decision was made against the advice of the corporation's chief planning officer, Mr Pat McDonnell, who strongly recommended that planning permission be refused because of the scheme's "detrimental" impact on the low-rise skyline of the city centre.
After the appeals had been lodged, An Bord Pleanala requested the developers to provide an environmental impact statement. This gave Skidmore Owings and Merrill an opportunity to reconsider the scheme, resulting in a further height reduction to 73.7 metres.
Reacting yesterday to the board's decision, the Irish Georgian Society said it was delighted that the arguments it had put forward during the four-day oral hearing last month about the scheme's detrimental impact on historic buildings had been accepted.
"Our main reaction is one of profound relief for Dublin because of the precedent that would have been created if such a radical change in building height was permitted so close to the city centre," said Ms Mary Bryan, the society's conservation officer.
"We're also delighted for the local communities because they put a lot of work and effort into it and fought a good fight," she added. The South East Network, which co-ordinated this campaign, said it was "absolutely thrilled" that the board had listened to its concerns.
According to Mr Alan Curtis, the network's co-ordinator, the board's decision "just goes to prove that you don't need thousands of pounds to put a good case forward". It also showed that developers would have to take heed of the concerns of local people, he added.
The Independent TD, Mr Tony Gregory, said the fact that the board found that the development would "materially contravene" the policies of the corporation's current city plan "raised a serious question for the city manager in that he gave approval to a planning application that was in clear breach of his own development plan."
Mr Michael Smith, newly elected national chairman of An Taisce, said the board's "progressive and comprehensive refusal . . . could not be more subversive of incongruous high-rise schemes for the city centre which overshadow historic buildings and established communities".
He also described it as a "significant vindication" of the stance taken by the corporation's chief planning officer and a blow to the "aspirations of the city architect and city management who in practice have been pushing an allegedly `exciting' brave new world of high-rise".
Mr Smith's charge was emphatically rejected by the city manager, Mr John Fitzgerald, who insisted that the corporation had dealt with George's Quay in a professional manner. He expressed surprise that An Taisce would issue such a "wildly inaccurate statement".
Though it was not his practice to comment on planning decisions, he said he was "obviously disappointed" by An Bord Pleanala's ruling. He also noted that the corporation was about to commission a skyline study of the city, which would be open to public consultation.
Cllr Ciaran Cuffe, who was the first to lodge an appeal against the George's Quay decision, said he hoped that the Cosgrave Property Group would not simply revert to the 1991 scheme, but would instead come up with a proposal that everyone could support.
