Will the State’s plan for the Carlton Cinema site revitalise O’Connell Street?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hello, I'm Ciarán Hancock. Welcome to Inside Business. This week I'll be speaking to Denis Staunton on latest developments in the Strait of Hormuz amid a break this week in the fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran. That's coming up in the second half of this show. But first I'm talking to Cliff Taylor of the Irish Times about the state's purchase of a near five acre site on O'Connell Street in Dublin that used to house the Carleton Cinema. Officially, it's being purchased for the Metrolink underground rail link to Dublin Airport. But is this part of a wider plan by the government to take charge of regeneration in this key urban quarter of our capital? I began by asking Cliff why Transport Infrastructure Ireland paid €80 million to purchase the site from UK developer Hammerson.
Did it really need to buy the site to deliver a Metrolink stop on O'Connell Street? Here we go.
Yeah, it's an interesting one because I guess the spin that was put on this... Spin? Well, sorry, I'm being pejorative. The explanation that was put on this was that this was part of the Metrolink project. And in a way it is because there's going to be a big Metrolink station. The O'Connell Street station is adjacent to or underneath... this site.
A good way underneath.
Yes, indeed, yeah.
Why did the State buy the 5-acre Carlton Cinema site on O'Connell Street for €80m?
Now, I suppose we don't quite know TII's rationale for doing this or the sequence of events that's going to come up. But let me kind of... game plan that out for you a bit. So a few months ago, the government announced that Robert Watt, former Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Health, was moving to a special position to head up the Dublin Task Force, this new special purpose vehicle that was going to be established. It's going to concentrate on development of the city centre, particularly O'Connell Street.
This all flows from the riot that happened a couple of years ago.
It does. The subsequent report. The task force was set up. They came up with some big ideas. Chaired by David McRedmond, former Rumpus boss. They came up with some big ideas. So this is the implementation of that. And a lot of interesting ideas are part of it. Now, the SPV, the special purpose vehicle, the technical thing that is going to implement this work or take ownership of it hasn't been legally established yet. It's kind of a complicated enough thing, apparently. What's going to, he's going to lead it. He's going to lead the SPV.
Ed McRetland is going to chair the board.
Exactly. So my speculation would be that Transport Infrastructure Ireland have taken this on now, but the SPV will, when it's legally established, be the entity to, probably to own the property or to organise the redevelopment of it.
So this is part of a jigsaw. This acquisition by TEII is part of a jigsaw. That's what it looks like to me now.
The other part of this is that there was an original plan for this site by Hammerson, the UK developer, who had been working on this for some years. I got planning permission from the council and subsequently from our board, Planola.
Did Transport Infrastructure Ireland need to buy the entire site to deliver an O'Connell Street Metrolink stop?
That was subject to a judicial review taken by the Murch Street Trust, organised by the families of people who fought in 1916 and also Sinn Féin. who have an interest because of the Moore Street site and the decision that part of Moore Street is going to be redeveloped to the National Monument, number 14 to 17. There were sensitivities around that. A lot of sensitivities around that, and there still will be for the future. But that was the subject of a judicial review on board Panola planning. Under that planning decision, if you like, it was clear that Hammerson had agreed already with TII, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, that the underground bit, if you like, would be developed as a metro stop.
Obviously, that's a huge advantage to them as well. Look at all the people it would bring into it. And that there was a piece of land designated as the box, it was called, which was the entry site. the TII was going to have to underground to allow it to dig.
So in other words, TII didn't need to buy the whole five and a half acres?
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:17
2
Why did the State buy the 5-acre Carlton Cinema site on O'Connell Street for €80m?
1:17–3:08
3
Did Transport Infrastructure Ireland need to buy the entire site to deliver an O'Connell Street Metrolink stop?
3:08–6:03
4
What is the Dublin Task Force SPV and how might it shape regeneration of O'Connell Street?
6:03–12:18
5
How did Hammerson's long planning history and judicial review affect the Carlton site's future?
12:18–25:32
Speakers
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