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The Irish Times reports that the developer behind
the €90 million 'Suas' cable car project for
the River Liffey - which would run from Heuston Station
to the docklands - is to seek planning permission from
Dublin City Council for the scheme.
The Council is being approached as the project failed
to secure fast-track planning approval from An Bord
Pleanála.
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Details of the Suas, which would involve the construction of
80m (262ft) towers along its length, have been presented to
city councillors ahead of the submission of a planning application.
Developer Barry Boland, formerly a planner with Dublin County
Council, last year sought to have the Suas considered under
fast-track planning rules which allow strategic infrastructural
developments to be determined directly by An Bord Pleanála
(Click Here).
However, the board decided the Suas did not qualify as strategic
infrastructure, leaving Mr Boland no option but to apply to
the city council.
The Suas would be a tourist attraction rather than a public
transport system, Mr Boland said. "We're trying to create
the equivalent of an Eiffel Tower, the London Eye or the Sydney
Opera House - the sort of iconic thing that Dublin currently
lacks."
Each cable car could carry 30 people and would run every
20 minutes. A round trip would cost €25. Two 80m towers -
20m taller than Liberty Hall - would be built at Marlborough
Street and Wood Quay and 60m towers would be located in the
docklands and at Watling Street to support the cable. Mr Boland
estimates that one in every eight visitors to Dublin would
use the Suas.
Several councillors said they were interested in the project,
but stopped short of endorsing it. "My mind was quite closed
to this project and I would still have a certain scepticism
- but, my mind is, perhaps, a little less closed" - Labour
councillor Emer Costello said. Sinn Féin's Daithí Doolan said
it was good to see a project that was "trying to do something
with the Liffey".
Mr Boland said it was up to the planners to decide if it
detracted from the skyline. He had wanted the cable cars to
be in the shape of a pint of Guinness, but this violated advertising
codes.
He added that he would be ready to submit his planning application
within weeks. However, because the city council owns some
of the land on which the entrance to the Suas and the towers
supporting the cable would be built, he needs to be given
permission by the city manager to lodge an application.
A Dublin City Council spokeswoman said Mr Boland would need
to seek a pre-planning meeting with the council to detail
how he intended to deal with certain issues - including access.
The Dublin Docklands Development Authority said it supported
the project in principle, pending a decision from the council.
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