Bray centre upheld - conditions added

An Bord Pleanala has upheld Bray Urban District Council's decision to grant planning permission for a new civic centre development - but with conditions which the local Chamber of Commerce says may make the whole scheme not viable.

After more than five years of public debate over proposals for the redevelopment of Emmett Park, home to a GAA club located just off Main Street, An Bord Pleanala held a public hearing over three days last August into the scheme.

At issue were 71 apartments and town houses, with an entrance through St Thomas' Community School, the demolition of Bray UDC's own offices, St Cronan's, on Main Street and the development of a commercial unit fronting Main Street.

Also included in the application - but less controversial - were a theatre, a health centre, four office blocks and new civic offices.

A first twist came about when it was learned that the inspector's report, published this week, recommended that the scheme go ahead, including the residential element and the entrance through St Thomas' school, before the board overturned its inspector's advice.

Instead, the decision to uphold the scheme announced by the board excluded the residential element of the development and the commercial unit on Main Street. It added the condition that St Cronan's be retained.

St Cronan's, a Georgian house, was retained because of its architectural merit and historical associations. At the planning hearing it was claimed that a Dr Miley, a chaplain to Daniel O'Connell and parish priest of Bray, lived there in the mid 1800s. It was claimed that Daniel O'Connell died in Dr Miley's arms in Genoa. Dr Miley was also said to have been a former president of the Irish College in Paris and a personal friend of Napeoleon III.

This week the proposed developer of the site, Newlyn Developments, issued a statement saying that because of the lengthy nature of the board's judgment, the company would be taking some time to consider its implications.

The statement noted with satisfaction that after years of controversy the appeals board had accepted the principal of development on the land. It went on to thank supporters of the development which it said were Bray Emmetts GAA club and the Chammber of Commerce.

A spokesman for the Chamber of Commerce said the decision had left "an air of concern" over the viability of the scheme. "It is bad news, coming as it does with the delays in the development of other centres in the town", he added. However, the decision was welcomed by the Novara and Sidmonton District Resident's Association which had appealed the planning permission.