Developer Seán Dunne has been given the final go-ahead for a scaled down redevelopment of the Jurys and Berkeley Court hotel site in Dublin 4.
After four years of planning controversy, An Bord Pleanála has given a 10-year permission for a development to consist of a 151-bedroom hotel and 11 apartment blocks ranging in height from six to 12 storeys.
The scheme passed unanimously by the board today against the advice of its planner is the third revision since the original scheme lodged in 2007.
That plan involved a 37-storey tower on the seven-acre site which he bought for €379m - more than €50m an acre - in 2005.
The original scheme also contained more than 27,000 square metres of retail space and 42,000 square metres of office units, but it was completely rejected by An Bord Pleanála.
The retail element has now been reduced with provision for one anchor store of 2,000 square metres, while the office development is gone.
There were a number of objections to the latest scheme from local residents but today one spokeswoman acknowledged that it had been "scaled back massively" from the original proposal.
While there is little chance of funding in the immediate future, the project's planning consultant Tom Phillips pointed out today that the planning permission was for 10 years and the scheme could be developed in phases. The site is not in NAMA as the banks involved are all foreign-owned.
D4Hotels, which is currently operating on the site, remains open for business. It says any development will not start for at least another five years.
