Citywest conference centre concert plans are refused
By Aideen O'Flaherty
PLANS for the provision of concert use at the convention centre at the Citywest Hotel have been refused permission by South Dublin County Council, reports Aideen O’Flaherty.
Cape Wrath Hotel Ltd, which operates the Citywest Hotel, lodged a planning application for concert use at the convention centre on March 16.
Citywest Conference Centre refused permission for concerts
The plans attracted two objections, one from the Saggart Village Residents’ Association, and another from Kildare-based planning consultant Derek Whyte.
The Saggart Village Residents’ Association stated in their objection that concerts being held at the convention centre would negatively affect nearby residents in several ways, including the potential for traffic issues, noise disruption, and anti-social behaviour.
Mr Whyte had a number of points of concern in his objection, including “a lack of an agreement with Transdev” about additional Luas services to the subject site.
He also claimed that the traffic impact assessment that the applicant submitted was “fundamentally flawed” as it assumed concert-goers would primarily use public transport.
South Dublin County Council refused permission for concert use at the convention centre on December 22 on a number of grounds.
These grounds include the local authority’s view that Cape Wrath “failed to demonstrate” that concerts could be hosted at that site without the local street network becoming overwhelmed, that parking and facilities would provide “adequate support” for motorists, and that “a significant proportion” of customers would use public transport.
The council added that the pedestrian connections from the convention centre to the Saggart Luas stop were “substandard”, and that the proposed development “would not provide the requisite capacity required for bicycle parking”.
Since the coronavirus pandemic started in Ireland in late March, the Citywest Convention Centre was primed as an overspill facility with additional beds if hospitals became overwhelmed, and last October it was turned into a temporary pop-up clinic for treating children with allergies.
According to a report by RTÉ last week, the HSE is looking at Citywest to potentially provide a range of other services to support the healthcare system, but they do not plan to set it up as an overspill facility again at this time.
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