Conservation laws can slow down bank conversions

Change is afoot in the Republic's banking sector, and its physical effects are evident all around us. More than 60 bank branches have closed within the last four years and a similar number is to be decommissioned within the short term as the main institutions create slimmer networks.

While this may be bad news for some customers, the commercial property market has been lapping up the closures. A very considerable range of high-quality space has been released on to a market that is, or at least was until recently, hungry to accept it.

Underlining the particular demand for former bank buildings is their individuality, or peculiar character. With a rash of banks dating from the late 1800s, buyers are offered the prospect of snapping up a flagship building harbouring distinctive period features: high and decorative ceilings, large, airy rooms and generally graceful airs are the norm.

But before you rush out to buy your local AIB or Bank of Ireland and convert it into a pound shop, you should be aware that some obstacles may stand in your way. Even if you can manage to gather together the purchase price, you will still be a long way off the conversion of your dreams, thanks in part to conservation legislation introduced in 1999.

The new law strengthened existing protections for structures that are of special interest for one of several reasons, including architectural or artistic qualities. Under the 1999 Act, listed structures became "protected" and were entered into each local authority's Record of Protected Structures, obliging owners and occupiers to ensure that the buildings in question were preserved. In layman's terms, even the slightest change to a protected structure's exterior or interior that is judged to affect the building's character could result in a fine of up to £1 million (€1.27m). All of this brings us straight back to the banks. More than 40 AIB branches have closed their doors since the bank began a "Branch Reconfiguration Programme" in 1997 and around 60 Bank of Ireland branches are to be put out of service. With many of these buildings, including their internal characteristics, featuring on a Record of Protected Structures, it becomes clear that their adaptability to non-bank use may be limited. Long gone are the days which saw a Royal Bank building in Dublin's Dolphin's Barn undergo conversion to an undertaker's premises, for example.

In more recent times, licensed premises have topped the list as the most popular new use for retired bank premises. A number of protected former AIB properties are currently awaiting conversion for this purpose: 10/11 O'Connell Street in Dublin and 63 O'Connell Street in Limerick. Other examples include a former Provincial Bank in Tralee, Co Kerry which houses historical provincial crests.

According to Ms Susan Roundtree, conservation officer with Dublin Corporation, this bias towards licensed premises makes sense because it usually allows the "volumetric" banking halls in question to remain in one piece, rather than being broken up into smaller parts, damaging a room's character.

A basic rule of thumb in conservation is that the smaller the bank being sold, the more potential uses it could have since the rooms involved may be more manageable. Eason's found this with the conversion of a modest bank branch on Dublin's Nassau Street into a bookshop. The company managed to introduce a mezzanine floor without contravening conservation rules and succeeded in integrating period features such as fireplaces into different sections of the shop. Dublin tailor Louis Copeland also managed a successful conversion a number of years ago with his Capel Street shop.

The Eason's mezzanine floor is a good example of how space can be modified without damaging its inherent character. In the case of conversion into office space, suspended ceilings might equally be introduced to cover protected ceilings, or temporary screens might be erected to divide rooms. According to Ms Roundtree, as long as the measure in question is easily reversible, it should not cause planning difficulties.

Unsurprisingly however, conversions do not run smoothly for every former bank. Around three years ago, a former residential AIB in Ennis with a walled garden was purchased with the intention of turning it into a hotel. But planning permission for this purpose has been refused and the bank returned to the market.

The underlying intention of the relatively strict conservation rules that apply to many former banks is that a building's subsequent use will befit the structure. While there may be doubts that a planned international telephone call shop in a former bank branch in Dublin's Talbot Street would fulfil this, the imminent conversion of a period premises in Dublin's Foster Place by Trinity College is surely a conservationist's dream. Trinity is set to house a range of academic and administrative facilities in the protected building. The former AIB, one of Dublin's most impressive former banks, houses a double-height banking hall with Corinthian columns which dates from 1859.

AIB insiders are thought to be very content with the bank's proposed use, particularly since the protection of a scroll commemorating Royal Bank war veterans has been guaranteed by the buyer.

Across the road, a National Irish Bank premises dating from the 1860s, is also to be converted - and might lend itself to, yes, use as a public house.