Plans by businessman Harry Crosbie to convert his 9 Hanover Quay property at Dublin's Grand Canal Dock into a hotel have been rejected by Dublin City Council on the grounds that Crosbie refused to permit free public access to the waterfront at the proposed venue.
Crosbie's plans were for a four-star, 19-bedroom boutique hotel with guest bars and dining areas facing the waterfront. The council had requested that Crosbie look into maximising public access to the quayside at the proposed hotel.
"Free Access Would Bring Chaos"
However, according to The Irish Times, Crosbie stated, "To allow free access would bring chaos and would be unsafe and attract anti-social behaviour in this very narrow strip. This behaviour can be unpleasant and nasty.
"It would be impossible to run a business with huge crowds of young people regularly sunbathing right up against our windows as now regularly happens around the basin on summer days.
"We have no problem with people using the quayside provided they enter through the main doors and we can control the numbers and the behaviour."
"A Lost Opportunity For Pedestrian Engagement"
The council ruled against approving Crosbie's request for planning permission primarily due to its belief that the proposed hotel's lack of quayside access would result in "a lost opportunity for pedestrian engagement with the waterfront along Grand Canal".
© 2019 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
