LABOUR PARTY LEADER, Ivana Bacik has stalled plans for a Dublin hotel over concerns regarding housing and that the hotel will contribute to “the further degeneration of Camden Street” as a “drinking emporia”.
Bacik expressed her concerns in an appeal she lodged to An Bord Pleanala against the new six storey 163 bedroom hotel for Camden Row, St Kevin’s in Dublin 8.
In her appeal, which was against the city Council’s planning permission to ORHRE Camden Row Ltd, Bacik said that residents in the area of Wexford Street and Camden Street in Dublin are “greatly concerned at the increased over-concentration of licensed premises”.
She added that over thirty premises are currently in the area – with over thirty licensed premises on the stretch from Kevin Street to Harrington Street, “which is less than a kilometre long”.
The Labour Party leader stated that over the past number of years, there has been a significant shift towards the night-time economy in the Camden Street area, with a resulting increase in anti-social behaviour and a significant decrease in daytime amenities.
The Dublin Bay South TD stated that “south city centre communities need more affordable housing – rather than more hotels”, given the current housing and homelessness crisis.
She stated: “So while I welcome continued regeneration and sustainable development in the Portobello area, it is my view that housing provision should be given priority over hotel development, given the significant housing need in the local area.”
Bacik stated that there are currently 13,514 people living in emergency accommodation as a result of homelessness, over 4,000 of whom are children.
She said: “This is a truly devastating housing crisis.
“In this context, in order to alleviate the crisis it is essential to ensure the rapid provision of more homes through the sustained development of high-density and high-quality housing in urban communities like our vibrant and dynamic community in the Camden Street area.”
Bacik has told the appeals board: “There is already a high density of hotels in the area. As the planning report from the developer notes, there are 15 existing or planned hotels in a 500m radius of the proposed site, and a further 40 within a 1km radius.
“Therefore, I have argued that the site may be better used for residential development, and this view is supported by the local community.”
Bacik stated that “the development of more hotels will not contribute towards the promotion of sustainable communities in the Portobello area”.
She said: “Hotels are used primarily for the development of a tourist economy and provide little added value to the local community.”
A second appeal has been lodged against the planned hotel scheme by Philip Elliott of Elliott’s Cash & Carry, Camden Row.
In granting planning permission, a Council planner’s report stated that given the site’s narrow plot width, the proximity of adjacent properties and the required development standards, “the site would not lend itself to a sustainable residential development”.
The applicants’ initial proposal was for a seven storey 195 bedroom hotel.
However, after Council planners sought revised plans after describing the seven storey proposal as ‘visually incongruous’, the applicants lodged the revised plans reducing a floor and omitting 32 bedrooms to 163.
The Council stated that the reduction in height is considered acceptable and addresses the concerns raised.
A decision is due on the appeals later this year.
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