No place for tea rooms in pine forest despite there being one 200 years ago

SOUTH Dublin County Council’s decision to refuse planning permission for the re-establishment of tearooms in a pine forest in Rathfarnham has been upheld by An Bord Pleanála (ABP).

Frank O’Gorman had been refused planning permission by the council in May 2022 to construct and reinstate O’Neill’s Tea Rooms on Cruagh Road in Rathfarnham.

Having filed the initial application with the council in March 2022, Mr O’Gorman outlined that tearooms first appeared at this location on historic maps produced between 1829 and 1842 by Ordnance Survey Ireland.

His proposal included the development of a main tearoom area, a kitchen, a lobby, two toilets, a patio area and parking.

The local planning authority refused planning permission in May 2022 based on five reasons.

One of the reasons was that the subject site is zoned as a ‘High Amenity Dublin Mountains’ location.

This zoning seeks to protect and enhance the outstanding natural character of the Dublin Mountains area, but it was noted that the subject site would be open for consideration for a restaurant/café.

However, the existing four- to five-foot-high wall structure with no roof on site where the tearoom was proposed is “not considered an existing premises” and therefore, contravenes the zoning objective.

As for the planned vehicular entrance from the Cruagh-Glencullen Road junction, the council said it had “not been satisfactorily demonstrated that the proposal would not endanger public safety by reason of a traffic hazard”.

Mr O’Gorman then went on to file an appeal with ABP in June of last year, where he addressed the concerns.

He stated he was “never given the opportunity by SDCC to provide further information to my application which appears to run contrary to the request of the above bodies and also hugely increases my costs in respect of the applications.”

Mr O’Gorman, as detailed in the appeal documentation, was of the belief that the junction proposed at his tearoom was “far less dangerous” when compared to a nearby junction at Rockbrook Park School.

Also, in coming to its decision, the council was of the understanding the application lacked “essential ecological information” and has insufficient detail regarding surface water drainage requirements.

There was no documentation attached with the application showing how the proposed development would be positioned in such a way as to minimise environmental and visual impact into the rural character for the landscape sensitively.

On October 16 last, ABP upheld the council’s decision to refuse permission for the development of the tearooms.

The appeals board agreed with the council’s view that the proposal contravened the zoning of the site as the proposed structure is not “an existing building” as is required for a café in that location.

It also noted that the development “does not include any provisions for safe pedestrian and cycle movements within the site or demonstrate how vehicles can enter and exit the site safely”.

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