Council bid to acquire former pub in Waterford city centre is rejected
The Royal Bar has not been operating for around a decade
An Bord Pleanála has rejected a council application to compulsorily acquire a former pub in Waterford city centre which has been vacant for around a decade.
The local authority had sought to acquire a number of derelict buildings at Lombard Street, including The Royal Bar with the intention of bringing them back into use.
In a report, prepared for the Board, planning inspector Ian Campbell stated the four buildings were in a state of disrepair when he visited them earlier this year and he recommended that the application be granted.
"The front/street facing facades of the Royal Bar are dirty with extensive areas of plaster flaking/cracked and the entire building is in need of repair/repainting. Vegetation is growing from the façade of the building and there is graffiti on the side and rear facades of The Royal Bar. The front façades of No. 12 – 14 Lombard Street are similarly in a poor state of repair
and are in need of repair/re-painting," he wrote.
The owner of the properties - Neville Hotels Unlimited Company - objected to the application and, in his report, Mr Campbell confirmed that a planning application relating to the derelict properties was submitted to the local authority in May.
In deciding to reject the council application, the Board noted the efforts being made by the owner to render the site non-derelict stating it did not believe that sufficient time was afforded to it to address the dereliction.