The Dean Hotel must stop using its rooftop outdoor dining area, which offers panoramic views over the city, Galway City Council has ruled.
The balcony area surrounding the third-floor restaurant there must be effectively closed off to the public to avoid noise affecting neighbouring residents in Bohermore.
The decision comes as a blow to the owners of the hotel, which was opened in 2022 … but they have been allowed to retain the rooftop Sophie’s bar and restaurant, located in an area that was to have been used for bedrooms under the original planning permission.
The hotel owners, Golden Birches Limited, have also secured planning permission to retain some other changes to the permitted plans, including additional floor area at lower ground floor level and increased floor area at third floor level.
The hotel has 134 bedrooms, a restaurant/bar on the ground floor, a gym/fitness centre on the lower ground floor as well as the rooftop bar/restaurant on the third floor.
In applying for retention of the three areas of contention, consultants acting for the owners said that The Dean Hotel, with an address at 80 Prospect Hill and Nos. 82, 84 and 86 Bohermore, had recently undergone a change of ownership.
“The new owners, who were not the developers of the original Hotel, wish to ensure that these ‘inherited’ planning issues are regularised without delay,” said a submission from Enviroplan Consulting.
The increase in floor area of 101sq m at basement level was substantially as a result of works associated with the former railway runnel, which lies partially within the hotel plan.
“The restaurant and rooftop bar (Sophie’s) offers a high-calibre dining environment with panoramic distant views over Galway City. This has been a highly successful addition to the city centre and serves as an integral ancillary element to The Dean Hotel offering at this location,” the submission continued.
A submission from An Taisce Galway expressed concern that the application for retention included only some of the unauthorised revisions made to the building since planning permission was first granted for this development in 2017.
“For instance, the most obvious non-compliance with the planning permission granted is the front façade of the building which is completely different to the façade for which permission was granted. None of the subsequent planning applications attempted to address the retention of the existing façade nor does this application for Retention Permission.”
It added: “An Taisce consider that the developer demonstrated a gross disregard for proper planning and the Planning Acts and Regulations.”
To avoid setting a “very undesirable precedent”, the applicant should withdraw this application and instead submit an application for retention of all the revisions made since permission was granted in 2017, An Taisce urged.
City planners accpted that details of some noise mitigating measures had been submitted after a request for more information in relation to the third-floor bar/restaurant and the outdoor dining area.
But a final city planner’s report said the Council “still have serious concerns regarding noise levels from the restaurant /bar area (with associated outdoor balcony seating area) which has external doors to the outdoor seating area, given the proximity to the adjoining residential properties to the north, east, west and south”.
The City Council has decided to grant planning permission for the retention of the additional floor area on two floors and the change of use of a third-floor bedroom area to bar and restaurant.
But among the conditions is a stipulation that the outdoor balcony be shut down in the interests of residential amenity.
“The outdoor balcony on the third floor shall not be used as an outdoor seating area, as an outdoor seating area for outdoor dining, as a smoking area or used by patrons for any other purpose either during the day or night.
“One door only shall serve the balcony area for maintenance purposes only and the double doors to the north-west shall be permanently closed or replaced with windows unless required for Fire Safety,” the Council dictated.
Pictured: The Dean Hotel at Prospect Hill: The balcony around the rooftop restaurant must close to the public.