Home News Latest News Pier buildings knocked down without permission says board

Pier buildings knocked down without permission says board

Thursday, 27 May 2010

THERE have been calls for 19th century structures to be rebuilt on the historic Carlisle Pier in Dun Laoghaire after An Bord Pleanála ruled that they were demolished without permission. The Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company began knocking down a number of derelict buildings on the old mail boat pier on September 1 last year to clear the site for a planned new promenade and concert area. The harbour company said at the time that it had received legal advice that the demolition, which they carried out without planning permission, did not break planning laws. It is understood that after the demolition the company put some of the older structures on the pier into storage. During the demolition, the Conservation Department at Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council said they believed the removal of the buildings from the pier did not require planning permission. However, the works caused uproar among local conservationists and the heritage body An Taisce. Deputy Ciaran Cuffe (GP) also appealed the decision to An Bord Pleanála. After months of speculation on the outcome of the appeals, An Bord Pleanála finally ruled last week that the works did not constitute exempt development. The ruling indicates that Dun Laoghaire Rathdown should have requested the harbour company to follow the normal planning procedures by lodging a planning application for the works. In their ruling the board noted that the Carlisle Pier and the demolished structures were not protected structures and did not come within the “curtilage of protected structures”. However, the board’s inspector said the structures fell within the meaning of “business premises” under the planning acts. He went on to say that the demolition of the structures did not constitute “exempt development”. Reacting to the ruling last week, the newly appointed chairperson of An Taisce in Dun Laoghaire, Gene Feighery, called on the council to either impose sanctions on the harbour company or force them to rebuild the structures. “The Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company, a State company, began demolishing this historic and iconic site without any planning permission from Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council,” she said. “Before the demolition even began, An Taisce raised the alarm with the council and objected to the demolition. It was always An Taisce's contention that any demolition of this iconic site required planning permission. An Taisce's view was rejected.” She added: “Dun Laoghaire Rathdown needs to either reinstate the original building or impose sanctions on Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company for this breach.” Deputy Cuffe is also a Minister of State at the Department of Transport, which has responsibility for the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company. He has sought a meeting with the harbour company to urge them to rebuild the demolished 19th century railway building. “I think that independent semi-State companies should adhere to the highest planning standards,” he said. “I am disappointed that the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company demolished the building despite my writing to them. “They wiped away more than a century of our history and heritage, without asking the people of Dún Laoghaire for their opinion. “I understand that much of the original building has been salvaged by the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company,” he added. “I hope that they will now restore the 19th Century Railway Building that stood intact on the site underneath the 20th Century building.” A spokeswoman for the local authority said they were considering the board's ruling and would not be commenting further until a decision had been reached. A spokeswoman for the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company said it was studying the ruling by An Bord Pleanála, which she said noted that the works “did not involve any protected structures or interfere with the setting of protected structures”. “The harbour company, in light of the long disuse of the pier, will study the report of the board’s inspector in detail and will then be in a position to make further comment,” she said.