Dublin City Council is getting tough on the overconcentration of hotel and aparthotel developments in the city centre.
Applications to build three such developments have been refused by the local authority in recent months on the "overconcentration" grounds. Plans for an eight-bed hotel at Merchants Arch in Temple Bar, a 142-bed hotel on Capel Street and a 37-bed aparthotel on Francis Street were all rejected by DCC.
An Bord Pleanala did overturn the Capel Street decision after the developer appealed it. The planning board cited a lack of "specific policy basis" for DCC's refusal in their decision.
Read more: Hotel at Merchant's Arch refused planning due to 'overconcentration' fears
However, the application for the 142-bed hotel, which has since been scaled back to an aparthotel development, was made under the 2016-2022 Development Plan. The new Development Plan, which came into effect in December last year, has specific clauses calling for "balance" between hotel and other development types.
Labour Councillor Darragh Moriarty is hopeful that the new plan will clamp down on hotel and aparthotel developments such as the one on Francis Street. He told Dublin Live: "The fact that we have been successful in refusing this is testament to the effort that has gone in. It can't be the end of hotels, we are going to need hotels.
"In a part of the city where we have just seen land used for visitor and tourist accommodation and then student accommodation - where in many cases the student accommodation is used for visitor accommodation in the summer. There is just so much of that type of accommodation when we are in the middle of a housing crisis and people literally can't find anywhere to live."
Cllr Moriarty said it was a "positive decision" but added that he is curious to see if the developer appeals to An Bord Pleanala and what decision they make.
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