3Arena wins battle over Citywest concert plan

The convention centre in Citywest – its owners had sought to turn it into a concert venue

Gordon Deegan

Live Nation, the owners of the 3Arena has won its planning battle aimed at stopping the new owners of Citywest from turning their convention centre into a concert venue.

This follows An Bord Pleanála overturning a grant decision by South Dublin Co Council and refusing planning permission for the development.

The owners of Citywest, Tetrarch Capital, were seeking to increase the convention centre's capacity from 4,100 to 6,000 and stage concerts there. Tetrarch Capital paid €29m for the hotel in 2014.

The widow of the former owner of Citywest, Jim Mansfield, Ann Mansfield also opposed the plan.

In refusing planning permission, the Board - on a 6:2 majority - voted to disregard the recommendation of its own inspector, who recommended that planning permission be granted. In their decision, the board stated that it wasn't satisfied with the information submitted that the proposal would not have a significant negative impact on the residential amenities of the area due to traffic congestion and evening and night time noise.

The inspector in the case recommended that planning be granted after concluding that the development "would not seriously injure the amenities of the area or of property in the vicinity and would be acceptable in terms of traffic safety".

Consultants for the 3Arena told the Board that "the site is almost 15km from Dublin city centre from Dublin City Centre and a concert venue in this location is likely to detract from venues in the city centre".

In a rebuttal submission, Citywest stated that there was an anti-competitive agenda at play in the 3Arena opposing the plan.