Dublin objectors delay planned Baggot Street hotel AGAIN

Dublin City Council granted permission for a 78-bedroom hotel on Baggot Street Upper
Local residents and stakeholders lodged formal planning appeals
A final ruling from An Coimisiún Pleanála is due by 21 December 2026
Objectors raised concerns over traffic, architectural protection and housing priorities
The developer scaled down the proposal from 100 bedrooms to 78 bedrooms

The planned boutique hotel development on Baggot Street Upper has been stalled following multiple formal planning appeals lodged by local residents and stakeholders with An Coimisiún Pleanála. Dublin City Council had granted planning permission to The Raglan Townhouse Hotel Ltd for a scaled-down, 78-bedroom hotel at a long-vacant site incorporating a former AIB bank branch at 52-54 Baggot Street Upper and parts of Eastmoreland Lane. Third-party appeals have frozen progress until a final ruling is issued, which is due by 21 December 2026.

Local objectors, including the Pembroke Road Association and the nearby Dylan Hotel, raised structural and environmental arguments in their submissions. Appeals highlighted that Dublin City Council failed to adequately address car parking and set-down issues in a predominantly residential area. Residents claimed the scale, bulk and traffic movement of the facility would materially injure the architectural character of local protected structures and the conservation area. Objectors argued the area does not need another hotel and suggested the historic vacant properties should instead be utilised for residential accommodation.

The developer originally sought a 100-bedroom hotel, which the council refused, and subsequently proposed an 87-bedroom version scaled down to 78 beds to satisfy design and density conditions. The council initially approved the 78-bed plan, noting that reusing the vacant, blighted corner site would bring much-needed activity to Upper Baggot Street. Construction cannot begin while the case rests with the national planning board, and a definitive decision from An Coimisiún Pleanála is expected just before the end of the year.

Lobbyists shared claims that Dublin City Council failed to adequately address the car parking and set-down issues in a predominantly residential area. Local objector representative shared that the scale, bulk and traffic movement of the facility would materially injure the architectural character of local protected structures and the conservation area.