There has been a mixed reaction to proposals for a radical transformation of the Carlisle Pier, the old mailboat pier in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Chamber of Commerce has described some of the elements of the proposal as "aspirational" and opposes plans for 250 apartments.
Dun Laoghaire is "apartmented-out", according to the chamber's outgoing president, Mr David Plunkett, who also questions the proposed location of a hotel on the harbour pier, but he supported plans for shops, restaurants and bars, which he believed would bring people to the harbour.
Mr Eamon Gilmore, local TD and Labour's environment spokesman, also opposes building apartments and the plans for the hotel. He said there were more elements of concern than "architectural merits".
The plan, reported in yesterday's Irish Times, is similar to Smithfield village in Dublin's inner city but larger in scale, with the same developers, the Devey Group. It includes a 250-bedroom hotel, 250 apartments, ground-floor shops and an Irish diaspora museum to reflect the number of emigrants who left Ireland on the mailboat.
An international architect, Mr Daniel Liebskind, is the designer and the plan is described as providing an "icon for Ireland" with the architectural impact of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.
The deadline for the decision has been reported as September 10th. However, a statement issued yesterday for the Harbour Company stated that the company is not committed to giving a decision on this or any other proposal by that date.
It also said it had not sought proposals from the Devey Group or any other developer but the group's proposal was "one of a number of unsolicited proposals submitted". No commitment was given to Devey or any other company that it would deal with them on an exclusive basis. The statement also said that the Harbour Company "does not intend, now or in the foreseeable future, to sell the Carlisle Pier".
Earlier, Mr Gilmore had expressed concern about the possible sale of the pier. He believed the Minister for the Marine was the person to make such a decision. "It is the equivalent of Aer Rianta selling one of its runways," he said.
However, a spokesman for the Department of the Marine said the Harbour Company is a commercial State company and has the right to sell the pier without departmental or ministerial approval.
Mr Gilmore said the harbour company's primary role was to run the port as a commercially viable operation. The plan appeared to have no provisions for berthage, he said.
Mr Plunkett said no shipping company had asked to go into Dun Laoghaire since 1955 except the Stena Line. The pier should be dealt with as an amenity for the public, residents and visitors.
"We should set our sights on what's achievable and what's needed," he said.
