Permission granted for Anglo coffee shop

The former Anglo Irish Bank building on St Stephen's Green, Dublin is to be brought back into service, but not as a bank.

Dublin City Council has granted planning permission to the building's owner Stephen's Court Ltd, a division of Irish life Assurance, to turn it into a cafe.

Anglo finally left the building in late 2012. Shortly afterwards the building’s owners approached the council with the cafe proposal.

The council had raised concerns about the proliferation of coffee shops in the area, but this week granted the development subject to conditions.

Planning consultants Tom Phillips and Associates, on behalf of Stephen’s Court Ltd said the cafe would bring “ vibrancy to the area”.