JD Wetherspoon €4m pub plan faces local opposition in the Camden St area of Dublin

Plans for a €4m JD Wetherspoon pub and hotel in the Camden St area of Dublin are facing opposition from local residents, with one objector declaring “enough is enough”.

The application on the site of a former homeless hostel at Camden Hall is part of a plan by the UK stock market listed Wetherspoon to open 30 pubs in Ireland over the next five years.

However, a number of objections have been lodged by local residents about the 2,300 sq ft bar and a 98-bed hotel at the site in a scheme that will create 100 jobs if it gets the green light.

In one objection, local resident Barry Chambers has told the city council “enough is enough, the area is at tipping point and already fast becoming another Temple Bar — great for revellers and operators but not so good for everyone else”.

Mr Chambers urged the planning officer in the case to take a stroll along Camden Street and lanes off the street at closing time at night “to witness the mayhem at first hand”.

There are already 14 pubs on the Camden St-Wexford St area with 13 cafés and restaurants serving alcohol and “clearly, Camden St is more than adequately served for the purchase and consumption of alcohol”, Mr Chambers said in his objection.

However, consultants for Wetherspoon have told the council the vacant site “will deliver a commercial development that will create vibrancy at street level and restore vitality to the surrounding area”.

Closing time will be 12.30 am on Fridays and Saturdays and “the proposed bar will not be a late night bar in the traditional sense”, they say.

The consultants also state the impact on local residents will be limited.