129-room hotel plans lodged for former Embankment pub site
By Aideen O'Flaherty
PLANS for the demolition of the former Embankment pub on the Blessington Road, to make way for the development of a 129-room hotel and three aparthotel buildings, have been lodged with South Dublin County Council.
Though the Embankment closed its doors more than two decades ago, its legacy has become the stuff of local lore – with many leading musicians such as the Dubliners and Luke Kelly entertaining revellers, while there are unconfirmed reports that Bob Dylan once went to the pub and was transfixed by a performance from the Dubliners.
The former Embankment pub on the old Blessington Road
The former site of the landmark pub is now the subject of a planning application by Mardivale Limited, which is run by the McGettigan family, who own the local Kingswood Hotel and McGettigan’s Cookhouse and Bar.
The developer is seeking permission for the demolition of the pub and existing incomplete buildings on the site to facilitate the development of a hotel.
The proposed three-storey hotel is to contain 129 bedrooms, while there are to be three three-storey aparthotel buildings comprising 15 units each, reaching a total of 45 apartments, comprising studios, one-bed, two-bed and three-bed units to the south and south east of the site.
Provision of a parking area for 120 cars and 30 bicycles, extensive tree planting throughout the site, a sub-station together with all associated site works, boundary treatments and landscaping, is included in the plans.
A decision on the application is due from the council by November 5.
The current application for planning permission isn’t the first time the former Embankment pub has been mooted for development, however.
Planning permission was granted in the late 90s for a single-story public house, a restaurant, crèche, swimming pool and a three-level, 54-bedroom hotel with conference and banqueting facilities, but this development never came to fruition.
In 2001, Mardivale Limited, who still own the site and lodged the current application for planning permission, lodged a planning application for the redevelopment of the complex – which included a new public house and car park, but it never came to pass.
Back in 2016, there were proposals for a primary healthcare centre and a ‘step-down’ facility at the site, but it was refused permission by the local authority, and the site has been lying idle since.
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