Sunday 13 September 2009

Chartered Land to meet with council over controversial Dublin Central development

Developer Joe O'Reilly's Chartered Land, which is planning the €1bn Dublin Central retail development for O'Connell Street, is to meet planning officials and Dublin city councillors to outline its plans for some of the buildings at Moore Street.

The move comes after independent councillor Nial Ring tabled a motion that the council "will not facilitate a proposal to build on and demolish part of the national monument at Moore Street through the disposal of public property or closure of city streets and lanes". The motion has now been amended by councillors to delete the reference to "the disposal of public property or closure of city streets and lanes". Ring did not return a call seeking comment.

Campaigners have been trying to stop O'Reilly demolishing the buildings at Moore Street, which they say played a key part in the 1916 Rising.

O'Reilly applied in recent weeks to buy the "fee simple estate or any other intermediate interest" in several properties in the area, including 4-5 Moore Street, which is part of the Dublin Central plan.

An Bord Pleanála has told Chartered Land to redesign and omit aspects of the scheme but left the size of the retail element largely unchanged. British department store John Lewis is due to anchor the scheme, which includes the Carlton cinema site.

An enforcement issue in relation to the cinema site was raised in recent weeks.

"Dublin city council did serve an enforcement notice on the owners and occupiers of the property in relation to the elevational treatment of signage to the front of the Carlton site," said a council spokeswoman. "The parties have met with our planning department with a view to agreeing a more satisfactory treatment of the signage. These changes will be the subject of a planning application which the city council has yet to receive."

Sunday Tribune

www.buckplanning.ie

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