Dun Laoghaire Baths
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burge_eye.
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- June 25, 2003 at 5:51 pm #706294
delta_jacob
ParticipantStephen Devaney of An Taisce has called on Councillor Donal Marren and County Manager Derek Brady to resgin as he “understands they prefer the high rise block”.
well theres a shock.
from what i’ve seen of the two proposals which are shortlisted, Bennett Constructions is bland, boring and dull,dull,dull. I have to say that i am very impressed with Pierce Constructions proposal, and i don’t say that purely as a skyscraper fan, i truly do think that it is a well designed building, which could become a landmark for Dun Laoghaire. Hopefully the commitee will not be bullied into building the bland alternative.
June 25, 2003 at 7:03 pm #731862WillC
Participantyeah read that too in the paper today. I really hope the high rise building gets the go-ahead. It looks fantastic and would be a great landmark for the area. it reminds me of that exclusive hotel in Dubai – can’t remember the name of it.
But then again, An Taisce seem to object to anything like this and willl probably end up ruining this proposal too. They make my blood boil . . . . . ugggggghhhh !!! The ultimate spoil sports
June 25, 2003 at 9:07 pm #731863notjim
ParticipantI am normally quite pro An Taisce, I mean I usually disagree with them, but they represent an opinion and argue for it in a rational way, but this is bizaar, how can someone be called to resign for holding an opinion in good faith. Stupid.
June 25, 2003 at 9:37 pm #731864text goes here
Participanti think the tower block option would be the better of the two. i have a feeling that it won’t go through though. what is the problem with a tower block? another flat hotel in that area would be ridiculous. a tall building like the one being proposed would be a great landmark building and i don’t understand why so may people are objecting. sure people have a right to object to a project but objecting to every propasal due to it’s height is ridiculous in this day and age.
June 25, 2003 at 10:22 pm #731865text goes here
Participantthat hotel in dubai looks very like the new building they have in london. very different yes but being different can be a good thing.
June 26, 2003 at 9:55 am #731866FIN
Participantany dealings i have where i have the bad fortune of having to read anything from an taisce, i have found them to be ignorant, small minded, arse bandits who have nothing better to do with there time but object to anything approaching modern architecture just to keep this country in the dark ages. i am probably going to be reported for this but i think they should all be be taken out and hung.( i would have said shot but bullets cost money and can’t justify the cost and besides the rope can be reused to hang more of them). i ahve never come across a rational objection from them yet. one specific one was a development i was doing and this ar***ole objected to an bord pleanala saying my development was like cutting the arms,legs,head and mulitating the torso off a roman statue of a beautiful woman!!!!!!!!!! and he bloody won!!!! it astounds me how this sort of nonsense in the 21st century can be even looked at without them being put in a mental asylum let alone been taken into account. ahhhhh! enouhg of my ranting…it sound sgood this building…ant pic’s…
June 26, 2003 at 10:26 am #731867urbanisto
ParticipantI can’t get the pics across but this article from the Southside People might be of interest. visit them for a view of the proposals http://www.dublinpeople.com
The €5m question
An artist’s impression of one the proposed structures for the site of the old Dun Laoghaire baths
If you sent a child down to the shops to pick up a packet of sugar you’d probably do more than lift an eyebrow if they returned without the sugar but with a promise to deliver a 19- tier wedding cake sometime in the future.So it was last week at the launch of the two most favoured proposals – at least by local authority planners – for the Dun Laoghaire Baths site.
Delivering the bag of sugar as requested was the Bennet Group. Sticking to the brief outlined by the County Council it offered detailed plans for a £25m million Thalasso Spa (apparently it involves doing something vaguely unpleasant with seaweed) and Baths complex, along with a 104-bedroom four-Star Hotel, 25m pool, children’s pool, jacuzzi, and an outdoor artifical beach and lagoon. The structure would be just four storeys high.
Eugene Moore of Bennet Construction described it as a “timely new tourism/leisure asset for Dun Laoghaire … the best option for the people of Dun Laoghaire and the area as a whole.â€
The 19-tier wedding cake was offered up for consideration by the Pierse Group. Standing 65m high, it would have 120,000 sq. ft. of office space, plus apartments, shops and restaurant, Sea Bathing Pools and an indoor water leisure centre.
It was, admitted Ged Pierse, not a plan but a concept. It would, he noted, pull the focus away from “a decrepit town†and provide a gateway building to Dublin Port.
There would be objections to this bold concept but it was time that the “tail stopped wagging the dogâ€. Everyone would like it apart from the two per cent who will object.†The 95% per cent who would support the building of the most sought after building in Dublin would “fight and defeat†those who objected.
As it was a concept, he noted, the detail would follow after consultation with the planners. He reckoned that it would take four years from now before it would be completed.
So why wasn’t the Pierse Group concept shown the virtual door? After all, their proposal bears no relation to what the County Council asked for.
There’s just one reason why they’re not just still in but are considered favourites – money, and lots of it.
According to Ged Pierse not only would his company build the 19-story structure without it costing the local authority, they would also pay a form of “ground rentâ€, based on occupancy, in perpetuity. The figure of e5m was bandied about with the hint that this would be just the beginning of a profitable relationship.
Obviously the much smaller Bennett Construction would never generate sums of this nature.
Models and other details of both proposals are on display at County Hall, Marine Road, until July 7.
June 26, 2003 at 11:13 am #731868WillC
ParticipantDoes anyone have an email address for An Taisce? I’m interested in sending them a mail – if only to let off a bit of steam. Fruitless exercise I know but I’ve got to let them know how I feel !!!!!! Arrggggggghhhhhhh!!!!
June 26, 2003 at 12:15 pm #731869FIN
Participanti don’t know if they have a central office or are they just sitting at home wondering what they’ll object to next. i presume they do but out of their safety i never bothered to find out. they actually must now i think about it as they council’s send them a copy of drawings from applications. which begs another question…are they state run, cos i didn’t think they are, and if not why do they get sent automatically a copy of applications???????
June 26, 2003 at 1:14 pm #731870delta_jacob
ParticipantI’m not surprised at the Southside Peoples stance on this. I’ve found it to be almost entirely filled with rehetoric and hyperbole…
June 26, 2003 at 1:36 pm #731871Paul Clerkin
KeymasterAn Taisce
http://www.antaisce.org/June 26, 2003 at 3:44 pm #731872FIN
Participant“An Taisce seeks to inform and lead public opinion and official policy on the environment, through partnership where possible”
that’s a lovely statement…… or put another way
An Taisce seeks to lead public opinion where possible…..June 26, 2003 at 4:40 pm #731873Rory W
ParticipantWell you can’t have people making their own minds up now can you…
June 30, 2003 at 3:18 pm #731874d_d_dallas
ParticipantThere are far too many examples of An Taisce representing a decidedly not in the public’s interests opinion to list here. Sometimes you read somewhere that the “elitest” tag for them is unfair/wrong – but I have to judge this special interest body on their actions – not their intentions.
Their intentions are worthy and there is a need for that opinion to be represented… but actions via blanket bomb objections and opposition to anything resembling a progressive development is hardly going to win them any favours.June 30, 2003 at 3:20 pm #731875Paul Clerkin
KeymasterI noticed that the cafe on the boardwalk in front og Michael Smiths house has been moved… wonder was he complaining…
July 2, 2003 at 5:27 pm #731876Paul Clerkin
Keymasterimages…

July 2, 2003 at 8:58 pm #731877text goes here
Participantyeah, everyone should get together and let An Taisce have it!!! i’m sick of their moaning.
July 2, 2003 at 10:55 pm #731878text goes here
Participantthere is an email address on the An Taisce website. i had a look the other day and i have already made a complaint. would anyone like to join me? i mean email them with a complaint just like i did. if enough people compalin it might do some good. it’s worth a try. otherwise we will see this box hotel go up instead. i want the high rise option for a number of reasons, plus it is the better of the two. that area doesn’t need another flat hotel.
July 7, 2003 at 12:30 am #731879text goes here
Participantmmmmm,
the results should be in tomorrow/today. i can’t wait to see which one they go for. i hope they discuss the winner on tomorrow’s/today’s news. by the way i am the type of person that looks at the news on a regular basis, yet i find it very hard to get info on these sort of projects. does anyone know where i should be looking? the net always has old news so where does one go to find out the latest up to date news on buildings, high rise development?… i’d appreciate any info. thanks
Cheers
🙂
July 7, 2003 at 9:56 am #731880notjim
Participanti guess i have some sympathy for the don’t privatise the sea front arguement, but, my understanding was that both schemes offered public access to refurbished baths. is that true? do people feel that no-one but the dcc can be trusted to maintain this sort of access or is the access on offer inadaquate in some way?
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