Development gets green light but plans still in doubt

TWO major office and residential developments have been given the go-ahead by an Bord Pleanála in one of the country’s most exclusive neighbourhoods despite multiple objections from wealthy residents and environmentalists.

But one of the developments — on the site of the Burlington Hotel in Dublin’s Ballsbridge — is in doubt after its promoters, chiefly developer Bernard McNamara, said any decision on the future of the site was “many years away”.

The plan — opposed by An Taisce and local residents — was to demolish the hotel and replace it with offices and apartments, possibly as a future headquarters for Bank of Ireland.