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Planning advisors to the developer of what could be Dublin’s tallest building have asked An Bord Pleanála to “overturn” a decision by Dublin City Council to shoot down its 24-storey tower on the site of the former City Arts Centre.
John Spain & Associates (JSA) has submitted a 66-page appeal on the behalf of the developer of the site, a company called Ventaway, which is backed by David Kennan and Winthrop engineering group founder Barry English.
The planning consultants said the proposed development has been “designed to a high architectural standard in accordance with the policies and objectives of the draft Dublin City Development Plan 2022-2028”, which was recently adopted by the City Council and will come into effect on December 14. JSA also argued the proposed building was in accordance with “recent national policy objectives and will provide for significant enhancement to the overall area providing for a number of beneficial outcomes to the city in terms of economic activity, tourism, significant improvements to the public realm, regeneration of a key city centre site in close proximity to a major public transportation interchange” and will be a “unique landmark to the city skyline.”
The planning consultants illustrated their appeal with various drawings including images of how new towers have been built around the Sydney Custom House. One of the reasons cited by Dublin City Council in turning down the new building was that it had an “overwhelming scale, mass and height” which would impact notably Dublin’s 18th-century Custom House nearby. A report from Mahoney Architects included in the appeal states: “The proposed building on the city Quay site is at a significant distance from the Custom House, where the river broadens towards Dublin Bay and will not have a detrimental impact on the views towards Custom House from the river or the south quays.”
Dublin City Council’s planners also objected to views of the tower from Amiens Street where it says it will be “overly assertive in terms of its influence on Dublin’s historic skyline.” Mahoney Architects again rejected this conclusion, stating: “In reality, the building would form a completely separate new focal point and would become a dramatic new landmark on the southside of Matt Talbot bridge. The building will enhance the skyline of the inner city at this point by creating a new gateway and arrival point to the south central city and will undoubtedly make a positive contribution to the urban character of the inner city.”
JSA also stated that the development will form part of an “emerging cluster of tall buildings in close proximity to Tara Street Station.” It said this included a 22-storey building on Tara Street and another 22-storey building on College Square, which “align with national planning policy of providing for increased heights and densities at significant public transport nodes.”
