Two illegal advertising banners which appeared on the railings of property developer Seán Dunne's controversial Jury's Hotel in Ballsbridge last week have been condemned by one of his most vocal adversaries, Fine Gael TD Lucinda Creighton.Against the backdrop of An Bord Pleanála's public hearing in Croke Park of the planning appeal for Dunne's controversial skyscraper tower in Dublin 4, Dublin City Council confirmed that no permission had been sought to display the advertising banners. A spokeswoman for the council said an enforcement officer was being despatched and a warning notice would be issued to the hotel that the banners were in breach of regulations.
"The rules are pretty clear. I'm sure Mr Dunne is well enough acquainted with the planning regulations to know he needs permission," said Dublin South East TD Creighton. "It's another show of disregard for the residents and a disregard for the rules, just as his planning application is a flagrant contravention of the Dublin city development plan."
Dunne and Creighton have previously locked horns. At the Croke Park hearing, she alleged that supporters of the property developer had "intimidated" residents who attended a meeting she organised to debate the plans for the hotel site. The head-turning red plastic banners, tied to the railings beside the hotel's main entrance on Pembroke Road and at the junction of Lansdowne Road, are advertising €99-a-night room rates in blue and white lettering, under the slogan, "Visit D4hotels.ie – where smart people go". In smaller, inked handwriting, the words "temporary sign" appear on each banner.
Dunne set a land price record for the prestigious south Dublin suburb when he paid €370m for the seven acres containing Jury's, Jury's Towers and the Berkeley Court hotels. His plans incorporate a 37-storey tower as well as a multi-storey embassy complex, offices, apartments, a hotel and an underground shopping centre. A resident of Dublin 4 himself, his billionaire fellow resident Dermot Desmond is one of the proposed development's staunchest opponents.
Dunne's contingency plan to run the property as a hotel while awaiting planning permission to proceed has been blighted by rifts with business associates. John Brennan, managing director of the five-star Park Hotel in Kenmare, briefly operated the hotel business, while the well-known publican Charlie Chawke ran the Dubliner Bar, before both men fell out with Dunne separately and acrimoniously.
An Bord Pleanála is expected to make its verdict on the planning appeal known by Christmas.
