OPENED LAST week, Hamleys toy shop in Dundrum Town Centre – a branch of the famous London toy shop – has already run into problems with the local authority.
It was refused planning permission by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to display six Hamleys signs on three elevations because they would be “visually unappealing”.
The first standalone Hamleys outside Regent Street, it was looking to erect six signs – four illuminated ones on the north-east and north-west elevations.
These would have been brushed stainless steel with Hamleys written in red and surrounded by gold stars.
On the south-west elevation they were looking for two non-illuminated signs, one with the Hamleys name on it and the other reading “Hamleys Toy Man”.
However, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council criticised the design, number and prominent location of the proposed signage, and said that in the absence of an overall strategy for signage in Dundrum Town Centre the proposal would be “inconsistent with existing signage within the Dundrum Town Centre” and would “detract from the visual amenities of the area and would set a poor precedent in the area”.