A FAMILY-OWNED firm has secured planning permission to build an eight-storey 116-bedroom hotel on the south quays of the River Liffey directly opposite Liberty Hall in Dublin.

Owned by the Keily family, Greybirch has secured planning permission to demolish several buildings spanning George’s Quay, Tara Street and Poolbeg Street to make way for the development.

The directors of Greybirch are Luke and Anthony Keily and the planned hotel will be opposite the nine-storey Apollo House office scheme, which is being built by property group, Marlet.

The council gave the plan the go-ahead after its planner found that “on balance, the proposed development will upgrade one of the most prominent locations in the city”.

The planner found that the proposal “will allow for the construction of striking and innovative contemporary/modern building in an inner city location proximate to public transport and other amenities”.

The council planner also found that “the proposal exhibits a distinctive contemporary design which will make a positive contribution to the subject site and Dublin’s urban fabric”.

The hotel site is adjacent to one of Dublin’s best known pubs, Mulligans, and the council found that “the proposed development would not seriously injure existing buildings or surrounding location”.

As part of the permission, Greybirch is to pay €261,647 towards public infrastructure and €132,392 towards the Luas Cross City Scheme.

Fáilte Ireland lodged a submission in favour of the proposal. Manager of Environmental and Planning at Fáilte Ireland, Shane Dineen stated that the hotel would be a valuable addition to the accommodation stock in Dublin and go some way to address the accommodation challenge being faced by the city.

Dineen stated that there is an acute shortage of hotel rooms in the capital where currently demand for hotel rooms exceeds supply.

Dineen stated that in such a scenario, prices are inflated giving the message internationally that Dublin is not a competitive destination.