GrantedCommercialDecided 18 November 2020

The Central Hotel, Nos 1-5 Exchequer Street and Nos 11, 14, 15 & 16 South Great George’s Street and No. 12 Dame Court, Dublin 2

Refurbishment, partial demolition, and expansion of the Central Hotel protected structure.

2974/20 · Dublin City Council · Lodged 6 July 2020

Reference: 2974/20
Authority: Dublin City Council
Register status: Appealed
Type: Permission
Received: 6 July 2020

Summary

AI-generated

The project involves the refurbishment, reconfiguration, and expansion of the Central Hotel to create a 125-bedroom hotel. It includes the demolition of a two-storey building on Dame Court and its replacement with a six-storey building.

Commercialhotelprotected structuredemolitioncity centre

Storeys: 6
Floor area: 6,554 m²

Generated from the description above by an AI model and may contain mistakes. The council’s description is the authoritative record.

Official record

Development description

Protected structure: the proposed development will consist of the refurbishment/reconfiguration, partial sundry demolition and expansion of the central hotel (a protected structure rps. Ref. No. 2719) to result in an overall amalgamated hotel of 6,554 sqm with a total of 125 bedrooms within 5 storeys over basement with a 6 storey element with plant level (above no. 12 dame court) and will include the following
Demolition of existing 2 storey building no. 12 dame court (c. 245 sq. M) and its replacement with a 6 storey building (overall height c. 22.205m) including a basement area amalgamated with the hotel with lift and stairs, access for deliveries and refuse storage, and electricity sub-station at ground floor level and hotel bedrooms from mezzanine through fourth floor levels with plant level above building. The external elevational treatment to street is a profiled glazed façade with perforated/profiled metal panels to match the adjacent rooftop extension
Refurbishment and reconfiguration of existing central hotel and associated premises as follows:- a) basement level - removal of internal partitions/walls to facilitate reconfiguration/refurbishment of basement areas of central hotel and nos 11, 14, 15 & 16 south great george's street to provide ancillary hotel areas including the internal alterations to the rí-rá nightclub as a speakeasy and the creation of its entrance lobby, toilets, storage/plant/attenuation & staff areas. Change of use of basement areas of nos 14, 15 & 16 south great george's street from ancillary retail storage to form part of an amalgamated hotel use as plant, administration space, public and staff toilet areas and part kitchen; b) ground floor level - amalgamation of nos 14, 15 & 16 south great george's street into the central hotel and associated change of use from retail to cafe/delicatessen and bar/restaurant. Reconfiguration/refurbishment of internal areas of reception, lounge and associated backroom areas and a covered winter garden link to the exchequer lounge. The change of use of the following; ground floor of no. 11 south great george's street from public bar to retail use (as christian science reading room moved from its current location at no. 15 south great george's street); ground floor of no. 14 south great george's street from retail use to bar/restaurant use; ground floor of no. 15 south great george's street from retail use to bar/restaurant use; ground floor of no. 16 south great george's street from retail use to café/delicatessen use; ground floor area at entrance to existing exchequer bar to change to become part of hotel reception; ground floor area as part of the existing globe bar/rí-rá nightclub from public bar use to retail use as part of the amalgamated hotel; c) first floor level - refurbishment and provision of bedrooms (to include removal and insertion of partitions/wc facilities, insertion of risers); refurbishment of existing 'library bar' (and associated alterations); change of use of part of library bar as 2 no. Bedrooms; removal of infill block connected by stair to existing retail unit at no. 14 south great george's street; removal of existing keg room and addition of a garden terrace; removal of ancillary space in courtyard to provide a landscaped platform area (including void to existing basement passageway), maintenance access only; d) second and third floor levels - refurbishment and provision of bedrooms (to include removal and insertion of partitions, insertion of risers and removal of exit passageway (external) between existing east and west parts of hotel), introduction of an inaccessible landscaped terrace at second floor level; e) fourth floor level - removal of existing fourth floor level mansard roof structure of the central hotel fronting onto dame court and exchequer street and its replacement with a new fourth floor level in its place to comprise a screen of narrow vertical metal fins, in front of a wall of glazing and metal panels with a standing seam metal roof in the same colour and material and 2 no. Dormers facing onto exchequer street (new plant areas within pitched roof space); removal of eastern side of pitched slate roof along south great george's street and provision of bedrooms/storage (with flat roof above), the removal of a chimney on dame court close to exchequer street and the heightening of the remaining chimneys to the ridge height of the new roof to dame court; replacement of the 2 no. Pediments on the south great george's street elevation in terracotta and brickwork; provision of external balcony/terrace areas. F) removal of existing lift shafts and stair cores (including chimney) from basement/ground to 4th floor levels and provision of new stairwells/lift shafts/servicing ducts/risers/dumb waiters as well as revisions to circulation/access (including provision of new opes) and removal of internal walls/partitions/replacement of doors as necessary; new glazed opening in existing staircase; glazed finish to internal facade of new northern 'wing' (which includes bedrooms and access 1st to 4th floor levels); g) external works to include; new canopies/signage, refurbished and replacement shopfronts (and lighting) on exchequer street & south great george's street facades (including replacement of existing non-original entrance canopy), replacement of windows at ground floor level; repointing and replacement of existing windows with matching timber sliding sash windows as required; the new façade to the courtyard comprises a glazed screen with vertical metal fins incorporating some metal panels and solar shading devices in the same metal finish; installation of secondary glazing units to bedrooms; revised entrance treatment and signage throughout above shopfronts to south great george's street and exchequer street including the new centralised entrance and the replacement glazed screens to dame court; the introduction of 5 no. Basement lights on dame court; and all associated site development works

Land-use zoning

What this land is zoned for

Z5: City CentreUC

“To consolidate and facilitate the development of the central area, and to identify, reinforce, strengthen and protect its civic design character and dignity.”

National zoning type: City/Town/village Centre, central area

Objective set by the Development Plan 2022-2028 (2022–2028). The planning authority decides each application on its own merits — this is the zoning context, not a compliance assessment.

Read the zoning objectives in the development plan

Built & sold

What happened next

Beyond the decision: whether this development was built, and what property here has sold for.

Recent sales nearby

within 500 m

Residential Property Price Register sales within 500 metres of this site
Address	Date	Price	Distance
Apartment 5, 50-52 Dame Street, Dublin 2	Nov 2025	€395,000	117 m
Apartment 1, 17 Fade Street, Dublin 2	Feb 2026	€1,275,000	147 m
3 Fownes St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2	May 2026	€1,600,000	150 m
Apt 24 Sprangers Yard, Crowe St, Dublin	Sept 2025	€340,000	164 m
Apartment 4, 5-6 Temple Lane South, Temple Bar	Nov 2025	€355,000	165 m
Apartment 5, 5-6 Temple Lane South, Temple Bar	Nov 2025	€355,000	165 m
Apt 39 Wicklow Court, 38 40 South Great Georges St, Dublin 2	Mar 2025	€295,000	169 m
Top Floor Apt., 5a Fownes Street Upper, Temple Bar	Oct 2025	€250,000	175 m

Nearby properties, not this site — a guide to local values.

Sources: Building Control Management System (commencement notices) and the Residential Property Price Register, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Records are matched to this application by location and may not be exhaustive; always confirm against the official source before relying on them.

Key dates

Timeline

Application received6 July 2020
Further information requested28 August 2020
Further information received22 October 2020
Decision due18 November 2020
Decision issued18 November 2020
Grant issued27 May 2021
Appeal submitted14 December 2020
Appeal decided27 May 2021

In the area

Applications near this site

Other planning applications within about 500 m — what else is being proposed or built nearby.

Related developments

Similar applications

Ranked by what these developments actually propose, not by matching words — so you can see how comparable applications were decided.

Community

Discussion

What local people think about this application.

Nobody watching yet

Community sentiment

No votes yet

Nobody has voted on this application yet.

Community sentiment — a straw poll of people who visited this page, not a statutory submission. To make a valid observation you must submit it to the planning authority.

No comments yet. Be the first to say what you think about this application.

Comments are moderated and are the opinions of the people who wrote them. They form no part of the statutory planning process — to make a valid observation you must submit it to the planning authority.