A decision by Fingal County Council to deny planning permission for a development in the Dublin suburb of Castleknock that would include a hotel has been appealed by the company behind the proposed development, Propoton.
As reported by The Irish Independent, the proposed development would be called Junction 6 and would include a 459-bedroom hotel in a 28-storey block as well as office space in a total of four blocks.
The proposed hotel could accommodate approximately 900 guests while the office space could have up to 7,000 workers.
Council Statements
Fingal County Council stated that the proposed development would be "seriously injurious to the visual amenity of the area", and that it would represent "intensive overdevelopment" and would be "seriously out of character with the pattern of development in the area".
The council also stated that the proposed development would involve a high density of employment development in a location that is "removed from high-capacity public transport".
Objections
Several local councillors and residents and Fine Gael senator Emer Currie objected to the proposed development.
Currie stated, "The planning permission being sought for this site clearly constitutes serious overdevelopment.
"It would have very serious adverse impacts to the residential suburbs located near the site in terms of bulk, height, and density.
"If planning permission is approved, the proposed hotel of 28 storeys would be the tallest building in the state. It would dominate the skyline throughout the Dublin 15 area and the visual amenity of local residential communities."
Currie also said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, "demand for hotels and office spaces of this magnitude has reduced because of the risk of infection transmission".
She added, "Working patterns will most likely change for good with more people choosing to work at home or remotely.
"The application for a hotel of this size seems ill-timed. We do not know if there will be demand for a 459-bedroom hotel and 34,195 square metres of commercial office space in a suburban location in the future."
Ruling Due Date
A ruling on the appeal is due to be delivered in April of 2021.
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