Dublin City Council said last night it is to exempt the refurbishment of Bewley's cafe in Grafton Street from planning control following an inspection of the premises yesterday, writes Frank McDonald, Environment Editor
This is despite a successful application by the landlord, Treasury Holdings, for an interim High Court injunction to halt the refurbishment work on the basis that planning permission was required for such alterations to a protected structure. The case is back in the court next Tuesday.
Jay Bourke, the entrepreneur behind the scheme to re-open the cafe in mid-May, was told yesterday by a senior planning enforcement inspector that an exemption from planning would be granted under section 57 of the 2000 Planning Act.
One of the principal concerns of the property company, which is controlled by Richard Barrett and John Ronan, was that it would be liable under law to reinstate the interior at its own expense in the event that approval for the alterations was refused by city planners.
However, a spokesman for the city council said the matter had been considered following a lengthy inspection yesterday and it was satisfied that the alterations would not materially affect the character or fabric of Bewley's.
Treasury is also in dispute with the Campbell Bewley Group over its alleged refusal to supply the necessary information to enable the landlord to decide whether a sub-lease should be granted to Mr Bourke's company, Sherland Entertainments.
A spokesman for Treasury said it was "entirely unacceptable" that this information had not been provided, despite repeated requests.
It was equally unacceptable to Treasury that works would be carried out on the building without planning permission.
However, Mr Bourke insisted that the only changes being made involved removing additions to the interior of Bewley's dating from 1996, as well as a large amount of catering equipment.
"Everything else is being kept absolutely as it was," he said.
"Red lino from England is going back down on all the floors, we're bringing in new bentwood chairs from the Czech Republic and we've ordered hand-painted silk wallpaper with an oriental theme at huge expense. The lino bill alone comes to €100,000."
Mr Bourke said the cafe's famous Harry Clarke windows were being cleaned and lit more effectively from behind.
"We haven't changed a single door or a wall in the place, so we didn't need planning permission. In essence, it's an interior decoration job."
He referred to Sherland's refurbishment of Bewley's in South Great George's Street as Cafe Bar Deli and said former customers of the Grafton Street premises would not be disappointed when it re-opened, as planned, on May 16th.
"They [ Treasury Holdings] say we've gutted the place, but we've done nothing of the sort," Mr Bourke said.
"We've hired an army of people and have been working flat out on this. The last thing we need at this stage is someone interfering."
Paul O'Brien of Treasury's architects, HJL, said he had no doubt that the scale of the works being carried out required planning permission.
"Anyone carrying out alterations to a house which is a protected structure wouldn't get away with it."
But Mr Bourke said he had the Lord Mayor and the people of Dublin on his side. He said Sherland's track record also needed to be taken into account.
Apart from Cafe Bar Deli, its bars and restaurants include Eden, Odessa, Gubu and the Globe in Dublin; the Bodega and Savoy in Cork, and the Garavogue in Sligo.
