A Listed building protected under the 1999 Planning Act is to be demolished as part of the Spencer Dock development in order to accommodate the National Conference Centre, An Bord Pleanala was told yesterday.
Campion's Bar, which could date back as far as 1750, is the only listed building in the area which is scheduled for demolition. Three other listed buildings are to be retained, including the former British Rail Hotel, the Iarnrod Eireann freight offices and the Wool Store.
Mr Franc Myles, a historic buildings consultant with Margaret Gowen & Co, presenting a submission on behalf of the developers, said Campion's did not "retain much of its primary fabric".
Mr Karl Kent, one of the inspectors, said that the board was being confronted with a listed building protected by legislation. If Mr Myles was going to say that it did not possess the primary fabric of the original building, then he should have some evidence to prove this.
Mr Myles replied that there had been insufficient time to do a detailed analysis on the building. He went on to describe the pub as "a rare example of a 19th-18th century bar that has been able to withstand commercial pressures to modernise unduly". He added that the pub was "clearly of local importance but not of national importance".
Mr Myles was asked by Mr Dermot Desmond's team if, in his opinion, the pub should be demolished. "I am a conservationist. I don't like to see it. There have been too many demolitions in this city," he replied.
In reply to a question by Mr Michael O'Donnell, legal adviser to the financier, Mr Dermot Desmond, Mr Tom Philips, for the developers, said that the balance was between "a building of civic importance for the retention of a pub".
Ms Mary Murphy, a member of the North Port Dwellers, said that the pub was very important for the local community. Mr Philips said that extra facilities would be built in the development.
Emissions from fuel burning and traffic would be "below significant criteria even under gridlock traffic conditions," he said. The development would not result in significant pollution levels and would not have a significant negative impact on air quality.
During the construction phase, Mr Porter said, "If a satisfactory dust impact minimisation plan is implemented, the effect of construction on air quality is unlikely to be significant."
He added, "Provided adequate consideration is given to the environmental impact of space heating at the design stage and that heating systems are operating in accordance with principles of best practice or within consent conditions, then the effect of the CHP [combined heat and power] unit on air quality is not considered likely to be significant."
Mr Bruce Unger, senior hydrologist at Dames & Moore, said that with regard to soil, no hazardous waste had been identified on the site. He said a dust minimisation plan would be implemented "to ensure no potential for fugitive dust emissions during excavation and transportation of soils".
A "potential exposure route of significance is through the ingestion of soil and dust." Yet Mr Unger said that local residents, and children in particular, would not be in physical contact with soils and would not be breathing dust. This was because the soils were damp and a dust management plan would be implemented.