St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre saved as planning for €100m redevelopment refused

Gordon Deegan

One of Dublin’s most famous landmarks has been saved – for now.

An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP) refused planning permission for the €100 million redevelopment of St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre in Dublin.

The refusal by ACP overturns a grant of permission made to DTDL Ltd issued by Dublin City Council in December 2023.

The largest component of the new scheme was to be office use providing for 35,043 sq metres of offices and ancillary spaces and the applicants increased the level of retail and Food & Beverage space after the Council expressed concerns.

In its refusal, ACP concluded that the scheme "lacks a strong sense of original aesthetic and would not achieve a sufficiently high standard of placemaking, urban design and architecture at this key city centre location".

As a result, ACP said the scheme would be contrary to a number of policies in the area of High Quality Architecture, Architectural Design and Brownfield, Regeneration Sites and Large Scale Development of the Dublin City Development Plan 2022-2028.

ACP said these policies “aim to encourage innovative, high quality urban design and architectural detail in all new development proposals, that positively contribute to the city's built and natural environment and incorporate exemplar standards of high-quality, sustainable and inclusive urban design and architecture befitting the city's environment and heritage”.

ACP concluded that the proposed development would, therefore, be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.

The board of ACP upheld a recommendation by its own inspector in the case to refuse planning permission.

However, in its order, the board of ACP included a note that it did not share the view expressed by the inspector that the existing shopping centre represents an exemplar twentieth century building.

Opening the door for a new application in the future, ACP concluded that the replacement of the existing façade, including the existing external trellis detailing and dome, would not contravene the Dublin City Development Plan 2022-2028, subject to an appropriately high quality design solution for this key city centre location.

The appeal came before ACP following three third party appeals by An Taisce, former Environment Editor at The Irish Times, Frank McDonald and St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre trader, Emmett Rogers.

In his appeal, Mr Rogers told the appeals board that if the redevelopment proceeds “I see Dublin losing another bit of its unique identity to developers”.

Mr Rogers has been operating the Tribe outlet at the St Stephen’s Green shopping centre since 1992.

In the appeal, Mr Rogers stated that he was “horrified” that the Council had granted planning permission to the mixed use scheme.

The An Taisce appeal, jointly signed off by Dublin City Planning Officer, Kevin Duff and Heritage Officer, Ian Lumley, stated that the predominantly large office development “lacks architectural sensitivity towards St Stephen’s Green and results in the loss of an impressive naturally lit space”.

In his appeal, Frank McDonald told the appeals board that what is proposed to replace the existing St Stephen’s Green shopping centre “is simply not good enough and does not qualify as a building of ‘exceptional design and outstanding architectural quality”.

In recommending a grant of permission, a 51 page City Council planner’s report concluded that "the proposed reductions to the scale and massing of the building significantly reduces the visual impact on this sensitive environment”.

The planner’s report acknowledged that the existing shopping centre is a local landmark but this was not due to the quality of its architecture and stated that the shopping centre is not a Protected Structure.

An architectural design statement drawn up by architects for the ambitious plan, BKD architects stated that since opening in 1988, the St St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre has faced many difficulties in attracting sustainable retailers.

The report stated that these include that most unit sizes are too small and the smaller shop units particularly those at the upper levels trade poorly and can operate only on short term leases.

Planning consultants for the scheme, John Spain & Associates told the Council that the existing building "has become outdated" and the proposal seeks to enhance a high quality shopping centre and office facility on a centrally located site.

Plans were first lodged in January 2023 and Mr Spain argued that the proposal represents a significant rejuvenation of a key site at the gateway to Dublin's south retail core.

The report stated that the St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre “is currently underperforming in its retail function and the proposal through the provision of medium sized units, which are currently in demand by higher order retailers, has the potential to significantly improve the retail offering in the area.