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Dunnes has won a months-long planning dispute to keep its Liffey Valley Café Sol open

The retail giant referred the case to An Bord Pleanála late last year.

DUNNES STORES HAS been given the all-clear to keep operating a Café Sol outlet in its Liffey Valley store, bringing an end to a planning dispute with South Dublin County Council.

Last September, the council issued an enforcement order against Dunnes and said that it required planning permission for the cafe. It said the store only had permission for operating a retail offering on the site. 

The retail giant filed an appeal and the case was forwarded for review to An Bord Pleanála late last year.

In a recent decision, An Bord Pleanála stated that using the small area of the store as a coffee shop does constitute a change of use.

However, due to the size of the cafe, lack of a separate entrance and the fact that it can’t be used as a separate lot, the planning board rules that the change of use is too “minor” to constitute a development and therefore doesn’t require planning permission.

90125474_90125474 Sasko Lazarov / Photocall Ireland Sasko Lazarov / Photocall Ireland / Photocall Ireland

Enforcement order

In its appeal last year, Dunnes referenced planning disputes concerning Starbucks, explaining that its situation differed from that of the coffee giant. Starbucks in Ireland had come up against several planning authorities after opening cafes without planning permission.

It also argued that Penneys had been permitted to run an Insomnia cafe in its Liffey Valley and Waterford stores. 

Of the 5,976 sq m occupied by Dunnes in Liffey Valley, some 79 sq m is taken up by the Cafe Sol outlet.

Similar to Penneys, the in-store cafe in is only accessible from the shop floor and not from the main mall.

Café Sol is a Dunnes own-brand since it was acquired by the retailer in 2015.

In the previous enforcement order from the council, the retailer was told to close the cafe in Liffey Valley by last November or face a €5,000 fine. It was also told to pay the €650 of expenses incurred by the council in its investigation into the case.

Get our Daily Briefing with the morning’s most important headlines for innovative Irish businesses. 

Written by Zuzia Whelan and posted on Fora.ie

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    Mute Sheldon Sheridan
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    May 12th 2014, 7:44 AM

    Brave hotel…

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    Mute Kris O Kay Kay
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    May 12th 2014, 7:22 AM

    Much lower unemployment rate at 36% than our indigenous “minority”…maybe we could swap?

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    Mute Esther Groarke-Powell
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    May 12th 2014, 9:30 AM

    Ah come on. Photos!!!!

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    Mute Massimo Osti
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    May 12th 2014, 7:22 AM

    Mister gypsey? Ill be entering my boss so..

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    Mute Massimo Osti
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    May 12th 2014, 7:23 AM

    Gypsy *

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    Mute Larry L'Oiseau
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    May 12th 2014, 7:48 AM

    So if we have ‘travellers’ have we any gypsies in Ireland ?

    32
    yo
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    Mute yo
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    May 12th 2014, 7:54 AM

    There the same thing

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    Mute Larry L'Oiseau
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    May 12th 2014, 7:58 AM

    So why don’t they call themselves gypsies and be proud ?

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    yo
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    Mute yo
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    May 12th 2014, 8:06 AM

    You will have to ask them that

    12
    Tom
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    Mute Tom
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    May 12th 2014, 8:13 AM

    Because we are not the same .gypsy and travellers come from completely different backgrounds

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    Mute Marlon Major
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    May 12th 2014, 8:21 AM

    I’m not an expert on this…. But I believe the Roma Community merged with the Travelling Community. However, the Travelling Community is by blood predominantly Irish. Being that the Travelling Community is a closed society, through the years they kept their coupling within the community.

    So today, in Ireland the Roma Community and the Travelling Community are two distinct groups with some similarities.

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    Mute Karen
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    May 12th 2014, 8:32 AM

    Because they arent Gypsies.
    Irish Travellers are a distinct Irish ethnic minority, who separated from the settled Irish community at least 1000 years ago; the claim was made that they are distinct from the settled community as Icelanders are from Norwegians.[25] Even though all families claim ancient origins, not all families of Irish Travellers date back to the same point in time; some families adopted Traveller customs centuries ago, while others did so more recently.[26] It is unclear how many Irish Travellers would be included in this distinct ethnic group at least from a genetic perspective.
    Irish Travelers are Irish!

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    Mute Emilio
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    May 12th 2014, 9:12 AM

    I am not so sure 1000 years is enough for any sort of genetic variation, specially considering that there would be cases where this separation you speak of would break.

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    Cpm
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    Mute Cpm
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    May 12th 2014, 9:38 AM

    “I am not so sure 1000 years is enough for any sort of genetic variation”

    Your concerns have been noted.

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    Mute Diarmuid O'Connor
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    May 12th 2014, 9:51 AM

    We don’t have travellers left here, this generation are sponging good for nothings who use the traveller title and name as an excuse to be a scourge on society.

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    Mute Diarmuid O'Connor
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    May 12th 2014, 9:53 AM

    If they separated from the community years ago, why do they take our dole, rent allowance etc. without giving anything back but sh1te to the community ?

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    Mute Jed I. Knight
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    May 12th 2014, 7:35 AM

    This should be good…

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    Mute Anto Golden
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    May 12th 2014, 11:06 AM

    Pikeys either way

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    Mute Michael Looney
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    May 12th 2014, 11:02 AM

    Jaysus! Imagine the smell of piss at it!!

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    Mute Patrick Roe
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    May 12th 2014, 10:47 AM

    Lovely stuff.. they won a weekend in a layby

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    Mute bandido
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    May 12th 2014, 10:07 AM

    Wonder will the bar be open?

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    Mute Carina Clarke
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    May 12th 2014, 9:55 AM

    A Paegent, judged by people not from their community buy from the fashion and media circles? Why was their no educator on the panel? Sounds like there young men and women are being manipulated yet again.

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    Mute Diarmuid O'Connor
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    May 12th 2014, 10:29 AM

    There, their and they’re.

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    Mute John Ward
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    May 12th 2014, 10:01 AM

    So when are the Mister and Miss Traveller contests starting?

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    Mute Donna L Tier
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    May 12th 2014, 3:25 PM

    Neglected minority???!!! Would you ever go away and F_ck yourself. You separated yourselves from society because you can’t be anyway civilised!

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    Mute Joseph Siddall
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    May 12th 2014, 3:44 PM

    If it doesn’t make …… Follow the money. Someone is profiting from this.

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    Mute Joseph Siddall
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    May 12th 2014, 3:44 PM

    ……..make sense……. Sorry.

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