The owners of the historic Wynn's Hotel in Dublin 1 have secured permission for a large extension to the hotel.
An Bord Pleanála gave the go-ahead for a two-storey extension to the hotel on Dublin's Abbey Street despite the board's own inspector recommending refusal.
The development involves a hotel revamp and increasing the number of floors from five to seven, adding 27 new bedrooms.
Senior planning inspector with the appeals board, John Desmond recommended refusal after concluding that the development would be contrary to the proper planning and development of the city centre.
Mr Desmond found that the development would seriously injure the amenities of neighbouring buildings by way of loss of daylight and visual overbearing.
The extension plan was opposed by An Taisce along with Nina Cafolla and Suzanne O'Neill.
However, in a split two-to-one decision, the board voted to disregard its own planning inspector’s recommendation to refuse.
The board explained that in deciding not to accept the inspector’s recommendation, it agreed with the city council that the site was located in a dense urban environment, that there was a need to ensure sustainable levels of development on scarce urban lands, and that the proposal would not preclude development on neighbouring sites.
Street environment
The board further considered that the development would not adversely affect the existing street environment of Harbour Court and would not seriously injure the amenities of neighbouring properties.
The appeals board also found that the proposed development would provide a building of high-quality design and would constitute an appropriate form of development at the subject site.
The board concluded the plan would not seriously injure the visual or other amenities of the area and would be acceptable in terms of its impact on the architectural and cultural heritage of the area,
Wynn’s Hotel has been in existence in some form since 1845 and has been witness to many of the events that have shaped the history of the capital.
The hotel staged the first meeting to establish the Irish Volunteer Force in 1913 and was bombed during the 1916 Rising before being rebuilt in 1921.
The hotel is owned by the Loftus family, with Neil Loftus leading the business.
The most recent accounts show that the hotel firm recorded pretax profits of €744,580 in the 12 months to the end of November 2017. Accumulated profits stood at €7.5 million and the business employed 62 people at the end of November 2017.
