Plans for a six-storey, 463-bed hostel for Dublin’s Camden Street Lower have secured the green light despite local opposition.
An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP) granted planning permission to businessman Eamon Waters’s Balrath Investments UC for the scheme, which involves the change of use of an existing building from retail and gym to tourist hotel and includes an additional four floors at 1-4 Camden Street Lower, Dublin 2.
permission This follows Balrath Investments last year securing planning permission for a 273-bed hostel at Maryland House facing on to South William Street and Drury Street, Dublin 2.
In giving the 463-bed space schemethe go-ahead, ACP dismissed the recommendation of its inspector to refuse planning permission.
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The inspector in the case recommended a refusal on the grounds that the loss of the gym and the nature of the proposed tourist hostel would negatively impact on the vibrancy, vitality and character of the area.
ACP found the hostel would enhance the choice of accommodation in the area and contribute to a mix of uses in the area. The commission noted that there are alternative local sports and recreational facilities to serve the community.
The planning body also found that the proposed hostel “would not detract from the amenities of the adjoining property”.
Balrath Investments secured planning permission after lodging a first party appeal against a decision last December by the city council to refuse permission.
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The council ruled that the proposed development would be overbearing on the protected structure, and would seriously injure the special architectural character, setting, significance and legibility of the area.
The council also found that the proposed hotel “would set an undesirable precedent for similar type development and devalue property in the vicinity”.
On behalf of Grantham Street Residents Association, Niamh Moran said the scheme “risks undermining Camden Street’s role as a vibrant urban village and poses significant risks to residential amenity, heritage conservation, and public realm quality”.
P Ó Raghallaigh of Upper Camden Street told the council that a large transient hostel use, with 463 bedspaces, night-time circulation and heavy reliance on adjacent pub culture, is incompatible with best-practice conservation principles.
Jason and Zuzana Warner of the Green Bench Café said “such a large transient hostel will likely result in increased noise, late-night activity, and general disturbance, negatively affecting residential amenity”.
