South Dublin County Council has confirmed that all construction work has now ceased on a controversial convention centre project planned by Mr Jim Mansfield for the Citywest Hotel complex near Saggart.
Mr Abe Jacob, the senior planner who dealt with the case, said he had visited the site yesterday and could confirm that there was no work in progress on the €50 million scheme, which is under appeal to An Bord Pleanála. He said the council had received an undertaking from Mr Mansfield's company, HSS Ltd, before Christmas that no further work would be carried out prior to the determination of An Taisce's appeal against the scheme.
Mr Jacob said an enforcement notice was first served on HSS last September - two months before the county council decided to grant permission - when it became clear that site development works were already under way.
After the council's decision to grant permission was issued on November 10th and before the four-week appeal period had expired, work started on the erection of a large steel portal-frame structure on the site, which is now complete.
According to Mr Jacob, HSS was warned that it had no planning permission to carry out the development. The council then initiated proceedings in the District Court for non-compliance with its enforcement notice.
Though this case has yet to be heard, he said an undertaking was received from HSS after An Taisce's appeal was lodged on December 8th that all work on the site would cease pending the outcome, which could be known in early April.
HSS originally lodged its planning application for the 8,000-seat convention centre at Citywest last June. It was to consist of a large shed-type building, two storeys high, with a neo-Georgian front, flanked by surface car parking. This project would be in addition to existing facilities at Citywest, which include more than 1,000 bedrooms in the main hotel and associated apartments, conference facilities with seating for 4,000 and two golf courses.
The county council's roads department was concerned about the traffic implications, warning that the addition of a further 6,000-seat convention centre could create "major congestion" on the narrow, winding roads in the area.
But Mr Jacob said the council had only approved the scheme after seeking further information and clarification from HSS, particularly on traffic issues.
"In the end, our roads department was quite happy with the proposal." Asked if Saggart was the most suitable location for a national-scale convention centre, he said this was not a matter for the council.
"We felt on face of it that this was a piece of infrastructure that would benefit the county."
Mr Mansfield said he believed Saggart was as good a location as any for a major convention centre and better than a city centre alternative because of its proximity to the M50.
It was also likely that Luas would be extended to serve it.
Asked on RTÉ radio about going ahead without planning permission, Mr Mansfield said he saw nothing wrong. He said he could not see why anybody would appeal because they hadn't made their observations in the first five weeks.
"The county council themselves were reasonably happy that there couldn't be an appeal, so I don't know how this has come about. But if there's something between An Taisce and the county council, I don't know what it is." Asked about previous breaches of the planning laws, Mr Mansfield said: "We're in a huge building way all the time now and, of course, things will happen and small extensions and changes and that and we went in for planning later."
The Green Party TD, Mr Ciarán Cuffe, said yesterday Mr Mansfield should await the outcome of the appeal to An Bord Pleanála. "Creating facts on the ground in advance of the board's decision is a dangerous interference with proper procedures."
