Plan for €750m Arnotts scheme appealed

Arnotts proposal for a €750 million redevelopment of its landholding between Henry Street and Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1, has been appealed to An Bord Pleanála.

Eight parties have appealed planning permission for the scheme which was granted by Dublin City Council in July, including An Post, An Taisce and the Rail Procurement Agency (RPA).

If successful, Arnotts' proposal would incorporate a new shopping, entertainment and residential zone, called Northern Quarter, on a 5.5-acre site.

The quarter would include 47 shops and 14 cafés, restaurants and bars. Around 175 apartments and a 149-bedroom four-star hotel behind the former Independent Newspapers building on Middle Abbey Street will also be provided.

A new plaza would be located between Henry Street and Middle Abbey Street, and Prince's Street North would be extended and redeveloped as a prime shopping street.

A new pedestrian route from Henry Street - through the existing GPO Arcade and the extended Prince's Street - to Middle Abbey Street is also part of the proposal.

The height of the scheme ranges from three to 12 storeys, with a 16-storey tower at the corner of Middle Abbey Street and Liffey Street. There would also be 683 car-parking spaces.

In its letter to the planning board, An Taisce criticises the proposal for the 1890s Arnotts facade on Henry Street saying it "essentially entails demolition of one half of the protected structure".

It says the area is not designed for a tall building and the 16-storey element would "result in a structure which would be grossly out of scale and proportion with its surroundings".

Other concerns include the proposal for a new Penneys building on O'Connell Street which it says "is inappropriate in design for such a prominent location within an Architectural Conservation Area". It also criticises the design of the Penneys Middle Abbey Street facade, which it says is inappropriate next to "the high quality 1920s Independent House".

An Post says it has concerns over the impact on operations at the GPO, and on its status as a protected structure. It contends that the raised height of the new Princes Street will cut across two of the service entrances to the GPO, as well as the entrance to the GPO Arcade.

It says the arcade would be serviced by steps and a disabled persons lift, both of which would encroach into GPO property below, preventing "An Post from carrying out its normal business as the building relies on being serviced from the Princes Street side".

It says proposed stairs and an escalator would detract from the Princes Street elevation. It also mentions the impact of the bulk, scale, height and mass of the new development southwards across Princes Street from the GPO. "Raising one side of Princes Street to virtually twice the height of the other would create an incoherent lopsided street, in a visual sense and detract visually from the GPO."

The RPA says the development will generate increased private car traffic in the city centre, and in particular along Abbey Street. "No demonstrable case advanced by either the applicant or the planning authority sustains the increases in car-parking that are sought. The resulting increases in private car traffic and servicing traffic are likely to degrade the quality of the Luas service."

Arnotts' plans were unveiled last year after the company spent an estimated €100 million acquiring many of the buildings between Henry Street, the GPO Arcade, Middle Abbey Street and Liffey Street.

The other appellants are Cat Nap Ltd, Des Murray of Ultimate Hair and Beauty, Frank and Ann Geraghty of Cafe Aroma, and Graham Hickey.