Court proceedings over a failure to restore the former City Arts Centre in Dublin have heard the developers who own the site expect they will soon be able to demolish the building.
Dublin District Court heard the builders claim it would cost up to €90,000 to get the building on City Quay into a "satisfactory condition".
The action taken has been taken by Dublin City Council against Ventaway Ltd, which hopes to redevelop the site to construct the city's tallest structure, a 24-storey office building, on the site which has been idle for two decades.
The council's refusal to grant planning permission has been appealed to An Bord Pleanala, which has yet to make a decision on the matter.
On Monday at Dublin District Court, Judge Anthony Halpin heard Ventaway Ltd sought an adjournment of the case to see the planning body's decision and in the expectation "we will soon be able to demolish the building".
The court was told the firm bought the site in 2021, maintaining it was already "in a state of considerable disrepair" and that it would be hazardous to carry out repair work.
Counsel for the company submitted that being summonsed to court was disproportionate, adding that repair work would cost between €70,000 and €90,000 "to bring this structure to a satisfactory condition".
However, the council believes the work could be done safely, the court heard.
Judge Halpin adjourned the case, pending the appeal to An Bord Pleanala, until July 27th, when it will be listed for mention.
In refusing permission for the 24-story development on the site, the council's planners had said last year that it would be "likely to have noticeable and detrimental overbearing and overshadowing impacts" on neighbouring properties due to its "overwhelming scale, mass and height".
The council announced it had refused planning permission for the project, partly due to its "scale, bulk and height", adding the proposed development would "seriously detract from the setting and character of the Custom House and environs".
"The proposal would have a significant and detrimental visual impact on the River Liffey Conservation Area and important views and vistas, including those views from the Custom House environs, Amiens Street, Mountjoy Square, Gardiner Street Lower, Trinity College Campus and views westward from the River Liffey," the council's decision stated.
"Moreover, due to the excessive scale of the proposed building and its proposed location, removed from the permitted buildings at Tara Street Station and Apollo House, the proposed building would stand apart as an overly assertive solo building which would not form part of a coherent cluster.
"The proposal would therefore have a significant and detrimental visual impact on Dublin’s historic skyline, by reason of fragmentation and visual intrusion and would thereby seriously injure the urban character of the City Centre skyline, would create a precedent for similar type undesirable development and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area."
The council also said the scheme was likely to have "noticeable and detrimental overbearing and overshadowing impacts on neighbouring property".
"The proposed development would therefore constitute an overdevelopment of the subject site, would seriously injure the amenities of neighbouring property, would devalue property in the vicinity, create a precedent for similar type undesirable development and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area," it added.
