The Sunday Business Post

Businessman Noel O’Gara is facing a new hurdle in his plan to turn Dartmouth Square in Dublin 6 into a car park. Dublin City Council has published plans to protect the trees on all four sides of the park, which would mean that they could not be removed to facilitate a development. The council wants to make Dartmouth Square an architectural conservation area. ‘‘In the interests of amenity and the environment, the retention of all the trees is important to preserve the character of the area, and any significant loss of trees would detract from the character and the amenity of the area,” Kenneth Moloney, a senior executive planner with the council wrote in his report on the square. Dartmouth Square was developed in the late 19th century and its zoning is ‘‘to preserve, provide and improve recreational amenity and open space’’. Generally, the only new development allowed in these areas - other than the amenity and recreational uses themselves - are those associated with open-space use.