Bord Pleanála gives green light for budget 148-bedroom Dublin hotel

An Bord Pleanála has given the green light to a seven-storey, 148-bedroom budget hotel for St James Street in Dublin.

The decision by the appeals board to grant planning permission to James St. Hotel Ltd overturns a decision by Dublin City Council that refused planning permission for the scheme in November, 2020.

The board found that the proposed development represented a positive re-use of a derelict brownfield inner city site at an appropriate scale given its location in the street-scape.

Zoning

It said that the zoning for the site shows that hotel use was open for consideration and concluded that the proposed scheme would not seriously injure the residential or visual amenities of the area.

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The directors of James St Hotel Ltd are listed as Mark, Andrew and Kelly Cosgrave who already operate The Hendrick Hotel in Smithfield.

Planning documentation lodged with the application said that the firm’s business model was focused on providing “high quality compact rooms” and an absence of a food and beverage operation “given the abundance of city centre alternatives”.

The business model also provided for “compact public areas” in the hotel as “guests socialise in the city and not in the hotel”.

The documentation said that the concept also focused on providing technology and high quality amenities and facilities in the hotel rooms.

The documentation show that there would be relatively small numbers of staff required to run the hotel.

The site already had planning permission for an aparthotel.

Permission

Planning consultants for the scheme, Brock McClure, said that the scheme would provide mich-needed accommodation of this type for Dublin’s tourism industry.

The council had earlier refused planning permission on the ground it would have a negative impact on the character of the area and would appear visually incongruous.

The council also concluded that having regard to the proposal’s form, scale and mass, the scheme would have a negative impact on the public realm.