An Eamon Waters company has been granted planning permission to build an eight-storey, 71-bed extension to the Grafton Hotel, on Johnson Place in Dublin2 , across the road from the existing four-star hotel.
The development will be affiliated and managed by The Grafton Hotel, it is noted in the application.
Following the demolition of the existing buildings at 3 to 5 Johnson’s Place - which currently house a number of retail units - an eight-storey, mixed-use development will be constructed.
The ground floor is set to be comprised of the hotel lobby, a restaurant and bar in addition to retail units. The seven levels above ground will be made up of 73 ensuite hotel bedrooms and a gym.
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The site at Johnson’s Place was described as “an ideal location for our next development” and would allow the group to offer additional accommodation to the “currently underserved” tourist market in Dublin, according to a letter accompanying the application.
In the letter, Colm Lydon, the group property manager for Sretaw Hotel Group, which includes The Grafton Hotel, said the hotel had been running near maximum occupancy in the recent past and forecast high occupancy going forward.
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He said the tourist trade was “invaluable” to Dublin City centre as it contributes to employment and supports surrounding businesses.
The applicant company, Grafton Residence ULC, is owned by Panda Waste founder Eamon Waters through his Sretaw Hotel Group.
The businessman is actively seeking permission to develop hotels and student accommodation on a series of sites across Dublin after purchasing several properties since the sale of his waste business empire in 2021.
Beauparc Utilities, which included the Panda and Greenstar waste firms, was sold to Australia’s Macquarie Infrastructure Fund in a deal worth €1.4 billion.
Mr Waters’ company has sought planning permission from Dublin City Council for similar developments at the site on two occasions previously.
The site is close to Peter’s Pub, which is a protected building. Previous applications that were granted permission by Dublin City Council were subsequently appealed to An Coimisiún Pleanála by local business owners.
The management of Peter’s Pub raised concerns of “direct and significant” impact on the protected building in an objection written by planning consultants Frank Ennis & Associates.
While noting some changes had been made against the previous applications, the consultants said that “critically, the dominant massing and height of the proposed eight-storey block remain unaltered when compared to the previously refused scheme”.
The consultants said concerns regarding the “overdevelopment of a restricted site” are “highly relevant”, as the development would create an “overbearing and dominant backdrop”, which would damage the visual presence of the protected building.
An observation written by O’Neill Town Planning on behalf of Stock Design, a home good store on the same block, raised concerns that the development could impact on their “potential development rights going forward”. The planning consultants urged the council to refer to the previous An Coimisiún Pleanála decision, which acknowledged these concerns.
Other objections raised concerns that the development would be out of keeping with the other buildings on the block, and of a scale which would “overwhelm the entire area”. Issues around refuse collection, deliveries and arrivals to the hotel and their impact on existing, narrow roads and footpaths were also raised.
