Dublin City Council refuses permission for Harcourt Street bar to operate as nightclub

Dublin City Council has sought to call time on the number of late-night pubs and nightclubs operating on Harcourt Street by turning down a request for extended opening hours to a proposed new café bar and restaurant in the area.

The council has refused planning permission to an application by the owners of the proposed new facility at the corner of Harcourt Street and Montague Street for lifting a condition which restricts its opening hours to 8am-11pm and prohibits its use as a nightclub.

The developer, Gambetta, a company owned by Don and Catherine Arnold, who also operate a nursing agency, Nurse on Call, had sought to a relaxation of a condition imposed by An Bord Pleanála in 2018.

Gambetta claimed its plans provided an opportunity to enliven the streetscape along Montague Street and Montague Lane through the development of buildings which had fallen into repair.

It claimed the opening of the buildings, one of which is a protected structure, would allow the public to “develop an appreciation and an understanding of Georgian Dublin”.

The company said its plans were that part of the building would be open early morning to cater for a breakfast and café trade with the remainder of the development opening in the afternoon.

In the evening it said the premises would cater for the after-work food and drinks business and also act as “an alternative to the typical ‘club’ scene with a more integrated casual food with music offering".

However, the council ruled that the omission of the restriction on its opening hours would allow the company operate the facility as a nightclub or late-night bar and restaurant which would “result in an overconcentration of such land uses on Harcourt Street”.

Council planners said there was already an overconcentration of late-night venues on Harcourt Street including Copper Face Jacks, Dicey’s, Dtwo, Everleigh and Ohana.

“It is envisioned that a late-night entertainment venue of this scale is likely to add to the substantial noise pollution from patrons entering and exiting premises in the immediate area,” the council said.

While the council accepted longer opening hours would have no physical impact on the architectural character of the area, it said an overconcentration of late-night facilities would not be compatible with protecting the civic and historic integrity of Harcourt Street’s Georgian Conservation Area and would act against its policy of trying to attract people back to living in such areas.

The owner of two nearby buildings on Harcourt Street, Wolfe Development, had also objected to the development claiming the character of one of Dublin’s most prestigious Georgian streets would be damaged if another late-night entertainment establishment was allowed to open.

“We feel there are currently enough nightclub and entertainment establishments on Harcourt Street that complement the mix of commercial and hotel businesses in the locality,” the company said.

It claimed the front entrances of his building already suffered from “litter, vomiting and general vandalism” from the existing late-night establishments on Harcourt Street.

The company said the existing permitted opening hours for the proposed facility were “more than adequate”.

The council had originally refused planning permission for what it claimed were plans by Gambetta to develop a superpub on Harcourt Street in 2017 amid concerns it would lead to an overconcentration of licensed premises in the area. However, its ruling was overturned on appeal by An Bord Pleanála the following year.

The city’s development plan provides that the development of superpubs should be “discouraged”. In August, An Bord Pleanála upheld the council’s decision to refuse Gambetta planning permission to demolish a number of other buildings on Montague Street as part of its plans for an expanded development of the proposed café bar and restaurant which could include a hostel, pizzeria and additional bars.

The new facility will be located in buildings that previously housed an Indian restaurant and a pizzeria and will include a new mezzanine level and courtyard.