The scheme by Cal Craven’s Badlands Developments Ltd for the six-storey 24-bedroom Windjammer Hotel resulted in widespread local opposition, with concerns being expressed over the scheme by the Eglinton Residents’ Association, the Pembroke Road Association, the Herbert Park Residents’ Association and the Lansdowne and District Residents’ Association.
In response to the planned hotel on the site of a former Ulster Bank branch for 166a Shelbourne Road, the council has refused planning permission as the scheme “would have an unreasonable overbearing and visually dominant effect on adjoining sites”.
The council has also refused planning permission as the development “is located on a heavily trafficked road” where several roads converge at the junctions of Pembroke Road, Shelbourne Road, Merrion Road, Ballsbridge Terrace and Elgin Road.
The council states that the proposed hotel would generate excessive drop-offs, servicing activity and overspill parking on the adjacent streets. It concluded that the proposal would seriously injure the amenities of property in the vicinity.
Too many developments attempt to shoehorn desires into unsuitable sites
On behalf of the Lansdowne and District Residents’ Association, chairman Frank Fitzgibbon told the council that “the introduction of such a tall building will, as shown by the montages supplied, distract from the overall experience of the village and focus attention on a modern stark building sitting right at its core.”
Mr Fitzgibbon stated that the site is “too small to accommodate a 24-bedroom hotel”.
He added: “Too many developments attempt unsuccessfully to shoehorn the desires of the applicant into unsuitable sites. The building’s dominant position and design would dwarf the substantial bridge at Ballsbridge and remove its historic impact on the look of the village.”
How the Windjammer Hotel would have looked
Today’s News in 90 Seconds – September 4th 2025
On behalf of the Herbert Park Area Residents’ Association, chair Colleen Joyce said: “The development’s proposed height would disproportionately tower over the surrounding streetscape creating an incongruous intervention and over-development of the site.”
On behalf of the Eglinton Residents’ Association, Robin Mandal stated that the proposed development’s visual impact “would be profound and overbearing”.
On behalf of the applicants, planning consultant Kevin Hughes told the council that the proposal “would support the continued development of Ballsbridge and provide for a luxury hotel with river views and high-quality architectural design finishes”.
Mr Hughes, of Hughes Planning & Development Consultants, stated that the gateway location of the site is appropriate “and has the potential to absorb additional buildings of greater height”.
He said that the site provides a unique setting for the provision of additional hospitality-based uses, given the proximity of the site to key tourist venues at the Aviva Stadium and the RDS.