Retail outlet to be built on site of Bewleys Café

Dublin City Council has approved plans to construct a retail outlet at the site of the former Bewleys Café on Westmoreland Street.

The plans were put forward by the owners of the café, who closed the facility and its sister café on Grafton Street late last year due to mounting financial losses.

The council's decision to alter the use of the shop from café to retail outlet flies in the face of a motion passed by local councillors last year calling for the two cafés to be protected in their current form.

The Save Bewleys Campaign has condemned the decision, saying the café was a cultural and historical monument.