Rearden’s Bar has again been refused permission to keep an outdoor seating area on Washington Street.
In December 2023, an application was made with Cork City Council by KMont Properties Holdings Limited, acting on behalf of Rearden’s, to retain its existing external seating area and surrounding structure on Little Cross Street.
However, the council refused the application.
In the ruling in February, it said that the proposed and existing developments would have a “negative visual impact” due to their location and would “adversely affect the character” of nearby protected structures.
The group lodged an appeal against the council decision with An Bord Pleanála.
In it, they wrote that Little Cross Street is “fully pedestrianised 24 hours a day” and that the development “does not impede on any pedestrian access to Little Cross Street as it is possible to safely walk through the centre of the street”.
But in a new ruling, An Bord Pleanála has upheld the council’s decision.
The board said it considered that the current and proposed development would have “a negative visual impact, resulting in an obtrusive feature which would adversely affect the character, setting, and heritage amenity of both the protected structure and the Architectural Conservation Area”.
It added that the developments would “reduce the carriageway width on Little Cross Street such that it would hinder appropriate access for emergency service vehicles and, therefore, create a traffic hazard”.
Rearden’s, one of Cork’s biggest pubs, has been operating in the city centre for more than 25 years.
