Ciarán Cuffe, the Green Party’s MEP for Dublin, has asked An Bord Pleanála to reaffirm Dublin City Council’s rejection of planning permission for a hotel to be built above The Cobblestone pub in Smithfield. In his objection to an appeal by Marron Estates Ltd, the would-be developers of the city centre hotel, Cuffe called the prospective hotel an “over-scaled, crude, and soulless monument to greed.”Cuffe’s concerns about the proposed development included its potential impact on nearby protected structures and its discordance with the surrounding architectural landscape. Regarding the threat to the nearby Cobblestone Pub posed by on-site construction, Cuffe wrote:“It is a matter of concern that the proposed development is likely to lead to the Cobblestone’s closure for many years. The importance of a Protected Structure is not limited to its physical presence but is based on its interest from an architectural, historical, and cultural point of view. A prolonged closure would severely impact on the Cobblestone’s cultural role.”Regarding the aesthetic dimension of the development, Cuffe also described the proposed hotel as “a crude slap-up building that pays little heed or respect to the existing scale, plot size or construction of the buildings that surround Smithfield.”An Bord Pleanála is expected to rule on the planning appeal in the coming weeks.Link to Ciarán Cuffe’s submission: bit.ly/CufCSA