An Taisce welcomes the decision of Dublin City Council to refuse exemption for removal of Bewley’s signage at its former premises on Westmoreland Street, Dublin 2.

The decision allows only for removal of one stained-glass panel incorporating the Bewley’s name, located above the entrance doors. This panel is however non-original and not of historic or artistic value.

Consent will now be required for removal of the mosaic Bewley’s fascia and entrance-threshold signs. While these signs also date to recent decades, they maintain the long-established association of the Bewley’s name with the premises.

ENDS

For further information, please call:

Charles Stanley-Smith, An Taisce Communications - Tel: 087 2411995

Notes:

The cafe was controversially closed at the height of the Celtic Tiger in 2004, and a planning application subsequently lodged to extend the adjoining hotel on Fleet Street into the historic café and also change part of its use to a retail outlet.

Dublin City Council’s decision to approve the retail-outlet portion of the scheme was appealed by An Taisce and the Save Bewley’s Campaign, and the existing historic café space was preserved.

In its 2005 decision, An Bord Pleanala said that, having regard to the “special importance” of the café to the civic, architectural, historic, cultural and social life of the city, the proposal would not be in accordance with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.

Café use finally resumed at the premises earlier this year when Starbucks opened an outlet, maintaining the historic-style frontage to Westmoreland Street including signage. This preserves the collective memory of the former historic landmark Bewley’s café to the city.