Treasury Holdings Ltd, one of Ireland's leading property companies, has been publicly accused of "torturing" a hotel developer in the centre of Dublin with legal actions and planning appeals.
Mr Garrett Kelleher, of Shelbourne Developments Ltd, told a Bord Pleanala oral hearing yesterday that he had seen the minutes of a meeting between Mr Richard Barrett, one of Treasury's directors, and Mr Paul Clinton, project manager of the Carlton Group.
In these minutes, which purport to record a meeting in September 1997, Mr Barrett allegedly said that Treasury was torturing Mr Kelleher over his plans for a 200-bedroom hotel, with 90,000 square feet of retail, at the corner of Moore Street and Parnell Street. Amid the din of pneumatic drills operating on the street outside the hearing room at the Temple Bar Hotel, the presiding inspector, Mr Des Johnson, interrupted Mr Kelleher, querying whether this was relevant.
Mr Kelleher was speaking in support of the Carlton Group's plans for a major shopping centre and multiplex cinema complex on the Carlton Cinema site and adjoining properties in O'Connell Street, which would include a galleried mall linking up with Moore Street.
Dublin Corporation's decision to approve the scheme was appealed by Keelgrove Ltd, a Treasury Holdings subsidiary. The same company was also responsible for an appeal against Mr Kelleher's hotel plan, which was finally approved by An Bord Pleanala in May.
Mr Kelleher said both Keelgrove appeals were vexatious and constituted "an abuse of the planning process for commercial gain". Treasury Holdings' agenda in both cases was to frustrate these developments in pursuit of a property acquisition strategy", he added.
Ms Assumpta Kenny, Keelgrove's solicitor, said the Carlton Group - headed by Mr Richard Quirke, owner of an O'Connell Street amusement arcade - was well aware that Mr Barrett had instituted libel proceedings against Mr Clinton and the alleged "minutes" were in dispute. Mr Ian McGrandles, Keelgrove's planning consultant, denied that its appeal was either frivolous or vexatious. The grounds cited when it was submitted to An Bord Pleanala last November were valid planning grounds relating to traffic and height issues, he said.
As the owner of a number of properties in Moore Street and Moore Lane, his clients believed that the corporation had made a decision on the Carlton scheme with "undue haste" and had not fully considered its impact on traffic circulation or the streetscapes of the area.
But Mr Pat O'Donnell, representing seven Moore Street traders, said his clients were worried that they would no longer enjoy all-day access to their properties and this "could put them out of business".
Ms Hazel Jones, of the Dublin Transportation Office, said it was concerned that the corporation's decision to permit 600 car parking spaces on the Carlton site could exacerbate traffic congestion in the area and create an undesirable precedent for other schemes.
She said that O'Connell Street was the most accessible place in Ireland in terms of public transport and this was improving all the time. Allowing a 600-space car-park on the Carlton site would be in conflict with the aspiration to take traffic out of O'Connell Street, she said.
Mr Michael Smith, chairman of the Dublin city branch of An Taisce, said it had signed a contract with the developers dealing with such issues as building heights, interior design and local employment. The only matter on which they had failed to reach agreement was parking.
Mr Neil Connolly, who ran the successful Lighthouse cinema on Middle Abbey Street, welcomed the Carlton Group's commitment to include an "arthouse" element in the proposed multiplex. This should consist of four screens with a combined capacity of 700 to be viable.
Mr Dick Gleeson, deputy chief planning officer of Dublin Corporation, said he would strongly support the inclusion of such a cultural element in the complex, which he believed would act as a "central regenerator" for the upper end of O'Connell Street in line with the overall plan.
Answering criticism that the corporation had been too generous on car-parking, Mr Gleeson said the Carlton scheme was "an exceptional case" because it involved the most critical site in the north inner city, and would introduce very important night-time uses to the area.
The hearing, which had to be relocated to the Irish Life Centre after complaints about excessive noise and poor ventilation, continues today.
