Council votes to protect building on prison site

Fingal County Council has voted to protect Thornton Hall, the site of the proposed new prison in north Dublin, from development by making it an Architectural Conservation Area (ACA) under its county development plan.

Councillors last night agreed a Green Party motion, without opposition from any party on the council, to protect the building at the centre of the Government's plans to relocate Mountjoy Prison from demolition and directed the council management to start the process of making it a "listed building".

The council was also told that An Bord Pleanála last year refused plans for a 60 bedroom hotel and golf course on lands bordering the Thornton site, because the additional traffic would "seriously injure amenities in the area" and any upgrade of the road system would "seriously injure the rural character" of the surrounding area.

An ACA designation gives a site a level of protection by stating that the "character" of the area be preserved and prohibits demolition of structures within the area, except in exceptional circumstances.

If a building is added to the Record of Protected Structures, making it a "listed building", further protection is afforded by making it an offence to damage the building or alter it without specific planning permission.

Councillors from all parties last night agreed to have these protections applied to Thornton Hall. Other structures in the immediate vicinity, including Kilsallagh Castle and St David's Church, are already listed buildings.

However, the councillors' decision does not guarantee the future of Thornton Hall and it cannot stop the Government from demolishing it to make way for a prison.

"The difference is the people making decisions about the prison have to have regard to the council's decisions on the building, but they are under no obligation to hold on to it as a protected structure," Fingal's director of planning, David O'Connor, told councillors.

Under the Planning and Development Act 2000, a development by the State is exempted from normal planning procedures if it is intended for the administration of justice or national security.

In the case of Thornton Hall the Government would have the option to abide by the council's protection order, or to ignore it.

An Bord Pleanála has already judged the area unsuitable for large-scale development, however the Government can also ignore this finding in order to build the prison.

The appeal board rejected proposals for a hotel and golf course on a 78 hectare site adjacent to Thornton Hall in 2003 and again in 2004. It sited traffic considerations and ruled out improvements of the road that would be needed for a hotel because of the damage it would do to the character of the area.

The scale of the hotel would "seriously injure the rural amenities of the area", it said.