Tuesday 15 July 2008

Giant statue approved for Liffey quay

PLANS to erect a 46-metre tall sculpture of a human figure on the River Liffey have been given the green light.

Dublin City Council has granted planning permission to the Dublin Docklands Development Authority to build a black steel lattice sculpture of a human at City Quay by Turner prize-winning artist Anthony Gormley, best-known for his 'Angel of the North' sculpture in the north of England.

Construction work will begin early next year at City Quay, and is expected to cost €1.6m.

Objectors claimed the massive work, which will be just 10 metres shorter than Liberty Hall and the same height as the Statue of Liberty, will dominate views of Dublin Bay from the city centre and relegate existing buildings to 'bit players'.

A petition from local residents also claimed it would over-shadow their homes, with 'adverse disturbance' to the footpath near their homes.

But the city council granted a 10-year planning permission, subject to six conditions.

Among them are a requirement that the DDDA submit full details on the cleaning arrangements for the sculpture, amid fears that it could become home to hundreds of birds. The authority will also have to outline the implications on the surrounding area.

It will also be required to lodge a deposit with the council "to secure the satisfactory maintenance or/and dismantling and disposal of the structure if and where necessary".

A four-week deadline now applies for objections to be made to An Bord Pleanala, which can overturn the decision.

Paul Melia
Irish Independent

www.buckplanning.ie

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