A politically directed strategy meant there could be no outright rejection of any phase of the Spencer Dock development by Dublin Corporation, Dublin city councillor Mr Tony Gregory TD told the Bord Pleanala hearing yesterday. Mr Gregory, speaking on behalf of local residents, said that because of the manner in which Dublin Corporation handled the planning application, the perception was that the corporation was "developer-led and antagonistic to the concerns and needs of local people".
"No matter how clear the case for a refusal was, no matter how much the proposal conflicted with the development principles of the Dublin planning officer, no matter how strongly the democratically elected city council and community opposed it, this planning application, from the moment it was submitted, seemed destined to get, at the very least, an outline permission, even if only for a quantum development," Mr Gregory said.
He said the process should have been strictly a planning matter and yet had a "political cloud" hanging over it. The city councillors were presented with a context in which the economy needed a national conference centre and the Department of Finance wanted the particular centre presented by the Spencer Dock development.
The Taoiseach's remarks last week that the development was a "monstrosity" were in line with the views of the dockland's residents, Mr Gregory said. He likened the Taoiseach's statement to "rats abandoning a sinking ship".
On consultation with local communities, Mr Gregory said Dublin Corporation adopted a "minimalist approach". "The almost total lack of consultation of residents on the Spencer Dock proposal would have effectively excluded the community from the planning process but for the commitment and initiative of the residents themselves."
Mr Gregory also spoke of the role of CIE in the development: "There was an intriguing spectacle of a State body, CIE, acting as developer, in consort with very wealthy individuals, who would be further enriched in the process. If built, it would be a monument to individual greed."