Enforcement process continues on demolition for Cork 'city sleeper' hotel

The Windsor Inn development on the corner of York Street and MacCurtain Street.

An enforcement process is still underway following the unauthorised demolition of a city centre building almost six months ago for Cork’s first ‘city-sleeper’ hotel.

As construction work continues on the MacCurtain St site of the former Windsor Inn, Cork City Council said it is in “active discussions and correspondence” with the developer to address the planning breach.

A spokesperson said that process is ongoing and declined to comment further pending the outcome.

It is understood that there has been extensive correspondence between the council’s planning enforcement section and the representatives of the developers since the demolition in March.

But Green Party Cllr Oliver Moran said there is a genuine risk of the council losing authority if a high-profile development is allowed to conduct its business in the way people assume is happening here.

“There’s a legal and administrative process to be followed and I don't want to assume the outcome of that,” he said.

“But to people's eyes, watching this, the original building was demolished and a new one is being built in its place, seemingly without permission from the planning authority. This has been the case for six months now. That’s very serious.” 

MacCurtain Street Hoteliers Ltd was granted conditional planning last February for the part demolition of existing structures on the site of the former Windsor Inn, a 19th century four-storey masonry building which had traded as a bar and guest accommodation over many decades, and the construction of a mini-hotel featuring 73 pod-style bedrooms with 93 bedspaces.

The hotel, close to the city’s train and bus stations, will be aimed at tourists who are travelling light on short-stays and who want to stay somewhere central.

But an enforcement file was opened in early March following the demolition of the former Windsor Inn building.

Construction and correspondence between developers and council continue 

Council officials visited the site to inspect and assess the nature and extent of the work, before the enforcement process was launched in relation to unauthorised development.

It is understood that on foot of the issuing by the council of a warning letter in March, a response from the developer’s representatives was received, and that correspondence is ongoing, with information and proposals from the developers still being considered.

Construction work on site continues pending a decision from council planners.

In a design statement submitted as part of the planning application, the project architects, Meitheal Architects, said neither of the two buildings at the development site were on the register of protected structures, or on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.

The report said there was little to nothing left of any conservation value internally except for timber staircases and balustrades “which are neither unusual nor of significant value”.

It said all the interior plaster features were gone and the original timber windows had been replaced on the front of the building with a mix of 30 to 40-year-old new and PVC windows.

It also said the buildings were in a poor condition generally.

In their design statement, the architects said they hope the new building will present a strong and confident presence that consolidates the architectural character of the area.

Fáilte Ireland has backed the new hotel project which it says meets the demands of a new type of city tourist.