Howth Church of Ireland opposes planned 'destination' hotel
Gordon Deegan
The local Church of Ireland in Howth is one of a number of parties to lodge objections against plans for a new 142-bedroom "destination" hotel for the area
In July, the owners of Citywest Hotel, Tetrarch Capital lodged plans for the new hotel on the site of the former Deer Park hotel in Howth.
The hotel is part of Tetrarch’s wider plans for the Howth Estate and the hotel includes a rooftop restaurant, bar and terrace, a spa, fitness centre and swimming pool.
Under Tetrarch’s plan, the existing Deer Park building would be demolished and replaced by the new four-storey hotel.
Tetrarch anticipates that 300 jobs will be created during construction of the new hotel and a further 280 jobs once it is fully operational.
Tom Phillips and Associates' Aoife McCarthy has told the council on behalf of Tetrarch that the proposal “will ensure the ongoing tourism and leisure use associated with the Howth Estate “and provide for a destination hotel for Howth has been lacking over the last number of years”.
Objections
However, the Select Vestry of the Parish of Howth of St Mary's Church is one of a number of parties to lodge objections against the hotel scheme and the main focus of the objections is the construction of a new road to serve the hotel development.
As part of the 18-page submission by the Select Vestry, it contends that the developer’s application includes construction of a roadway designed to connect to the present private road that has been used exclusively for and by the Church for at least sixty years and probably much longer.
The Church submission states that the new road “is demonstrably unnecessary for the proposed development as there is an existing roadway which has served a hotel and an extensive public golf course facility for decades”.
The Church also states that the proposed new road runs through an area of the highest possible protected zoning and an area specifically designated for preservation of its character privacy and seclusion in the midst of dense permitted development in the vicinity.
The church claims that the road “is patently designed to serve undisclosed future development proposals and therefore, should be refused”.
New road
In his objection against the scheme, Cian O’Callaghan TD has told the council that he is “strongly opposed to the proposed provision of a new road through high amenity lands at the Howth Estate”.
The Dublin Bay North TD said that the proposed road “would heavily impact on these high amenity lands”.
He said that the new road would create a permanent disturbance of this amenity “and would significantly diminish the amenity value of these lands”.
Planning consultant, Andrew Hersey on behalf of the Howth/Sutton Community Council has told the council that due to the cumulative impact of developments for the area, the hotel scheme “will in no doubt result in serious and unmanageable traffic congestion and hazard in Howth”.
Mr Hersey stated that the scheme contravenes the zoning objective for High Amenity zoned lands as a consequence of the proposed new access road to the hotel.
A decision is due on the scheme later this month.
