Pub forced to rethink plans for beer garden
COUNCIL CONCERNS OVER IMPACT ON RESIDENTS
The owners of the Cock Tavern will have to go back to the drawing board if alterations at the pub are to be allowed by the council.
THE owners of a Swords pub will have to go back to the drawing board if plans for a new beer garden and smoking area are to be approved. Thomas Smyth and Sons Limited has applied for planning permission to change the use of part of a retail unit to the rear of The Cock Tavern on Main Street into a kitchen and toilet, as well as for the construction of a single-storey beer garden and smoking area. The planned outdoor area will be set out at first floor level, over the existing pub, and will incorporate access from the existing ground and first floor lounge areas, if given the go-ahead, while an associated pergola structure is also proposed.
However, in response to the application, Fingal County Council has since requested five elements of additional information over the scheme.
The local authority expressed its concern that the proposed beer garden would ' seriously detract' from residential amenities currently enjoyed by occupants of an apartment block to the east, whose windows directly overlook the subject area.
' The extent of the garden proposed, together with the inadequate level of separation from the adjoining apartment block, would negatively impact upon the residential property adjoining, in terms of loss of privacy, increased noise levels, as well as light and smoke pollution,' the planners' report read. The applicants were asked to submit revised proposals demonstrating how the garden could be provided without being detrimental to the residential amenities and a significant reduction in the floor area is to be ' considered'.
Details of the intended use of a 9 sqm retail area have also been requested, along with plans for a window on the eastern elevation, fronting onto New Street, with the council noting the importance of the prominent corner location retaining a strong shop-front design.
- Robin KIELY
