Appeal lodged against proposed changes to redevelopment of former Moore’s Hotel

A third party appeal has been lodged in a bid to overturn Cork City Council’s decision to approve changes to the redevelopment of the former Moore’s Hotel site on Morrison’s Quay.

Quakeside Limited has previously been granted planning permission for a new hotel and office development on the site of a dilapidated former hotel.

Last September, it lodged plans to revise the existing permission for the mixed-use development at the site which incorporates numbers 9-14 Morrison’s Quay, 5-5A Fitton Street, 1 Keeffe Street and adjoining lands backing onto Catherine and Keeffe Street.

Proposed modifications 

It sought to change the use at ground floor level of the permitted offices on Catherine Street to provide 19 additional hotel bedrooms, meaning there would be a total of 206 rooms in the final hotel.

Further internal alterations, including a new corridor and changes to bicycle parking, were proposed as were minor external alterations to Catherine Street, Fitton Street, Keeffe Street and Morrison’s Quay elevations.

A planning report submitted with the amendment planning application stated that the proposal to amend the permitted office space to provide additional hotel bedrooms arose “from the increased need identified by the hotel operator, Premier Inn, for additional bedrooms in Cork City”.

“The additional bedrooms will increase the quantum of tourist accommodation in the city centre, supporting the continued development of the city and ensuring the city has the capacity to cater for increased tourist numbers,” the statement continued.

It contended that the additional rooms would “increase the commercial viability of the permitted hotel” and would ensure “a thriving vibrant hotel in the heart of the Cork City once complete”.

It also stated that the development would still retain offices in the protected structures along Morrison’s Quay providing a mix of uses at the location.

“This will ensure the conservation and continued use of these protected structures with minimal intervention.

“It will also provide an active frontage during the day along the quay. The reduction in office spaces is a reflection in the changes Covid-19 has brough about with [an] increased number of people homeworking, or blended working, with a reduced demand for office space,” the planning report stated.

Appeal 

Cork City Council granted permission for the changes, subject to seven conditions, but an appeal has now been lodged with An Bord Pleanála (ABP).

The appeal, lodged by two residents in the area, cites a number of different reasons for the appeal including privacy concerns.

“Our living space is overlooked from the 23 metre high Quakeside building. The Quakeside building will have hotel rooms looking in at us and looking down on us from about 100 hotel rooms.

“This is a serious invasion of our privacy and our right to peaceful enjoyment of our home,” the appellants state.

They also claim they have been negatively impacted by the construction works to date in a number of ways, including being impacted by “particles of dust and other material (micro particles)”.

“The development has an adverse effect on the use, enjoyment and residential amenity of our home,” they also say.

ABP is due to make a decision on the case by June 8.