Owner of Cork's Venue Bar in ‘panic’ over Luas line plan

The licensee of a popular pub in Ballintemple has said they are in “panic mode” following the publication of the proposed route for the Cork Luas line.

Con Dennehy, who runs the Venue Bar on the Blackrock Rd with his partner Kate, expressed his shock following the announcement of the route which, under the current plans, would see his premises demolished.

The proposed line, published by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and launched by Taoiseach Micheál Martin on Monday, shows the emerging preferred route spanning 18km and 25 stops from Ballincollig to Mahon Point.

As outlined by Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the proposed line will see the route travel from Páirc Uí Chaoimh southbound to the Blackrock Rd before travelling further across Churchyard Lane, where a portion of land take will be required to facilitate the alignment — which includes the demolition of the Venue Bar.

The plans, published on the dedicated Cork Luas website, state that it is proposed to reinstate this corner site as part of the works, in keeping with the architectural conservation area status of the village.

Speaking to The Echo, Mr Dennehy said that neither he nor his partner were contacted prior to the launch of the plans regarding the potential demolition of his business.

Unprofessional

“I think the way they went about this was shoddy and unprofessional,” said Mr Dennehy.

“Those plans have been rattling around in somebody’s office for months — they should have brought us aside and given us a heads up.

“They’re launching this with great fanfare, but they’re now after blowing the value of the building out of the water — who’s going to buy it.

“I don’t know what my address is going to be, but I intend to go about [contesting] this — even if it takes 15 years to go ahead.

“My partner is extremely upset, she’s in panic mode. We took that place over 10 years ago, when it was a derelict site, and we’ve put our hearts and souls into it.

“Nobody contacted us about this prior to the launch — they [National Transport Authority] have contacted us subsequently, [but] it’s a total shock.”

A spokesperson for the authority said that the body informed Mr Dennehy of the plans to demolish his business at the “earliest opportunity”.

Informed

“Any acquisitions that are considered will be managed in a sensitive and fair manner, and all affected parties will be dealt with individually,” said the spokesperson.

“We informed Mr Dennehy at the earliest opportunity about the impact which the proposed scheme would have on his property. It is TII’s policy to inform all affected stakeholders at the same time, and Mr Dennehy was treated no differently to any of the other affected stakeholders.

“Our intention is to be fair and transparent and, therefore, we advise all at the same time. Having said that, we are most keen to engage with affected stakeholders, and have invited any such stakeholder to contact us at their earliest convenience so we can discuss their individual situations.”