La Touche Hotel site clean up promised

pixbyjohn

http://www.greystonesguide.com/articles/article/8086566/159497.htm

Matt Le Tissue

great news (if it happens)
and hopefully it will

Dunphus

Was there not an issue where wooden beams etc. in the interior or rotting? I recall someone posting up photos here before.

Charlie-Bravo

I'm not sure about this one. A few questions are raised. I wasn't aware that the building was in NAMA in the first case. Who is the owner/developer of the site again?

It appears the works mainly revolve around cleaning up the appearance of the site. I wouldn't have thought NAMA would sanction monies to be spent for something that isn't going to be actually used by anyone. I just don't see the finiancial benefit in the short to medium term for them to do this.

If the building is dangerous, let Wicklow Co. Co. deal with it. They have inspectors who will issue the necessary notices. Then the owner (identified to be NAMA) has to undertake the necessary remedial works to make the building safe. Has Wicklow Co. Co. issued such a notice that anyone is aware of?

On the one hand as a resident of Greystones, I am happy to see these proposals be given the go ahead, on the other hand it could simply be wasting money in the overall scheme of things. It's my take on it anyway.

pixbyjohn

Read this again.....
"The latest update we have from the Anglo Irish Bank who are managing the case is that"

Blandpebbles

More flim flam from 'Arris. No commitment from NAMA at all, merely the passing on of a proposal from Anglo.

The most contradictory statement yet from him...

'I welcome the positive commitment by NAMA to engage constructively on this issue. These proposals are very welcome and constitute far more than a mere paint job. All external hoarding around the site is to..” continued Deputy Harris.'

'has secured commitments from NAMA, which is now responsible', nope Anglo again.

'I trust this answers your query' meaning he made one query not the extensive communication he claims.

Can't wait for the cavalcade of councillor newsletters all with photographs of them standing outside La Touche claiming they looked into.

Blandpebbles

astrofluff wrote: »

I'm not sure about this one. Who is the owner/developer of the site again?

The owner/developer has abdicated all responsible for the site once it went into NAMA. Yes they still have a massive debt to repay but they have no responsibility to make anything look good. Indeed NAMA has no responsibility to make it look good either merely to get some return on it.

vinpaul

Blandpebbles wrote: »

astrofluff wrote: »

I'm not sure about this one. Who is the owner/developer of the site again?

The owner/developer has abdicated all responsible for the site once it went into NAMA. Yes they still have a massive debt to repay but they have no responsibility to make anything look good. Indeed NAMA has no responsibility to make it look good either merely to get some return on it.

Now that the owner has been identified by NAMA and SH, could the public be made aware of who the owner is. The planning notice for proposed future development is still posted on the hoardings in the name of a receiver (Mr Luby, I think).
How anyone can allow large sums of public money to be spent painting, replacing shuttering, installing new railings etc is beyond me. This is just incomprehensible in times of such severe austerity.
This hotel has gone beyond the stage of saving it and should be demolished and the site cleaned up.

nobby grande

100% agree with vinpaul, what is Simon Harris doing securing funds to clean up the exterior of this once fine hotel? The interior is in a shambles from the pictures on the web. Cleaning up the exterior is a complete waste of money if the hotel is not going to be saved. A plan needs to be devised to sort out the long term future of this site and forget the short term tart up job. This is short sighted local politics at its worst.

Jammyc

Just a question, but did Simon Harris actually do anything except send an email and get a response about plans that were already made? Hardly great work to secure something is it?

vinpaul

Thanks for your agreement.
More people must protest at the spending/wasting of our money (and other tax payers) on this ridiculous unthought-out plan. Who in their right mind could sanction one cent for this stupid proposal. Let the receiver spend whatever he can get on cleaning up site. Don't let NAMA or WCC dream of looking for our support on this plan.

loyatemu

Jammyc wrote: »

Just a question, but did Simon Harris actually do anything except send an email and get a response about plans that were already made?

He also posed outside it for a photo that's in the North Wicklow Times - posing for publicity photos is 90% of SH's job.

Fiachra2

nobby grande wrote: »

100% agree with vinpaul, what is Simon Harris doing securing funds to clean up the exterior of this once fine hotel? The interior is in a shambles from the pictures on the web. Cleaning up the exterior is a complete waste of money if the hotel is not going to be saved. A plan needs to be devised to sort out the long term future of this site and forget the short term tart up job. This is short sighted local politics at its worst.

Who would pay for the demolition and cleaning up?

Annasopra

Maybe if anyone has issues/problems they should email Simon Harris

Blandpebbles

Emailing Harris does nothing, he doesn't respond even to the most major of topics. He did nothing to move this forward anyway.

As to the owner of the La Touche site, most people know who they were and that they now no longer live in Ireland.. and even if here they have no control over what Anglo does with the property. Nor can they be held accountable for tidying it up themselves.

Harris has gotten way too much publicity out of this already.

Annasopra

Blandpebbles wrote: »

Emailing Harris does nothing, he doesn't respond even to the most major of topics. He did nothing to move this forward anyway.

As to the owner of the La Touche site, most people know who they were and that they now no longer live in Ireland.. and even if here they have no control over what Anglo does with the property. Nor can they be held accountable for tidying it up themselves.

Harris has gotten way too much publicity out of this already.

What would you suggest doing then?

homer911

Harris should read his Bible - we dont need another "whited sepulchre"

http://bible.cc/matthew/23-27.htm

Annasopra

Perhaps we could have constructive suggestions rather than just criticising Simon Harris

Tiradon

To me, this sounds like a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” scenario. If the site is left as it is, it will attract criticism for being neglected; if there’s an attempt to clean it up a bit, it will attract criticism for wasting money and time. A point to note would be that it is highly unlikely that this site will be bought any time soon as the cost to renovate/repair would probably cost as much as, if not more than, the purchase price. As far as I’m aware, the building can’t be flattened as the façade needs to be kept. This severely limits what can be done with the site (in terms of quick fixes). The likelihood is that this site will remain derelict for many years to come, probably until such a time as the building itself becomes structurally unsafe and needs to be pulled down for safety reasons (the cynic in me wonders whether this was/is the plan all along to avoid breaching preservation orders etc, but I digress). As it stands, we have an unbelievable eye-sore which is affecting the town and needs remedying. True, if it gets a facelift, there is a danger of the true scale of the “rot” being forgotten as it would be “out of sight and out of mind” but I for one, welcome the news as irregardless of who the promise comes from, and who is or is not claiming credit for it, at least it’s something tangible and that’s a lot better than nothing.

Annasopra

what about the people of Greystones setting up a cooperative with maybe 1000 members to take it over as a business?

Jammyc

mango salsa wrote: »

what about the people of Greystones setting up a cooperative with maybe 1000 members to take it over as a business?

Would there not be problems with taking it out of NAMA's hands?

Annasopra

Jammyc wrote: »

Would there not be problems with taking it out of NAMA's hands?

Not sure but I'm throwing this out there as a positive constructive suggestion.

Charlie-Bravo

mango salsa wrote: »

what about the people of Greystones setting up a cooperative with maybe 1000 members to take it over as a business?

An interesting concept for the building. Very Good Mango Salsa. How much to get it off the receiver? And much do you want from me?

Subject to Contract/Contract Denied

micandre

mango salsa wrote: »

what about the people of Greystones setting up a cooperative with maybe 1000 members to take it over as a business?

good idea. Unlike most parts of Ireland Greystones does not have a decent hotel that can host wedding receptions/business functions. There's also a limited choice for B&Bs/hotel for visitors to Greystones. If there would be enough people in the Greystones area could contribute the individual outlay would be less.

If work is being carried out to smarten up the site it might attract investment?

Regarding SH contribution I don't see the harm in the press coverage. All public representatives of all sides would do exactly the same.

nobby grande

Fiachra2 wrote: »

Who would pay for the demolition and cleaning up?

Nama need to decide the future of this site. Whether in fact this site / premises can ever be commercially viable again is key. I would urge Simon Harris to lobby for this decision as quickly as possible. I would not advocate spending money unnecessarily on minor and irrelevant aesthetics. With regard to demolition i have no idea who covers the cost of that and the cleanup. I think that question may be jumping the gun though. Hopefully the building can be saved, it is\was a beautiful premises and would be of worth to the town if it could provide jobs and trade.

Annasopra

nobby grande wrote: »

Nama need to decide the future of this site. Whether in fact this site / premises can ever be commercially viable again is key. I would urge Simon Harris to lobby for this decision as quickly as possible. I would not advocate spending money unnecessarily on minor and irrelevant aesthetics. With regard to demolition i have no idea who covers the cost of that and the cleanup. I think that question may be jumping the gun though. Hopefully the building can be saved, it is\was a beautiful premises and would be of worth to the town if it could provide jobs and trade.

Realistically speaking a decision will not be made on the future soon. I think that it's a good idea to have the site cleaned up a bit and secured better.

vinpaul

I noticed last week that the lead or copper that covered the canopies over windows on sea side of hotel has been removed. This would appear to be a break in, windows above have been broken, obviously to gain access to roof. No report of this theft in any news reports. Where is the security?? What else has been removed from this eyesore. The sooner it is demolished the better.

conlof

I moved to greystones after the La Touche closed. So it holds no nostalgic memories for me. I do think that greystones needs a hotel.
From what I can glean of the situation with the La Touche it appears that the refurbishment of it would either be structurally impossible or financially suicidal.
Eventually it has to be knocked down or it will fall in on itself.
Either way the hotel has no future.
Better to knock it now, clear the site, and build something of use to the community like a hotel.
Wasting cash on it just to make a derelict building look better is errant nonsense

Huntthe

Is there a report from someone qualified that says it has to be knocked ?

pixbyjohn

Huntthe wrote: »

Is there a report from someone qualified that says it has to be knocked ?

No......not yet

Huntthe

Ok Ta. I'd rather wait for that than before we start knocking down our heritage.

Blandpebbles

While the LaTouche in its heyday added a certain elegance to the seafront, the montrosity it has become serves only as edifice to greed.

For the millionaire who has the time and love, it could become an approximation of its past glory but with the knowledge it would never make money.

For the practical developer and the community another hotel is the last thing that should be built there. Even at its height the LaTouche could not garner enough visitors to sustain it as a business, another hotel will equally falter.

A suggestion perhaps would be to build the proposed health centre on the land, through a land swap agreement with NAMA. Thus ensuring we continue to have unobstructed views at the harbour, a new health centre with ample parking and a general improvement in the Greystones vista for the cargo ships, rowing and sailing club members.

Under no account should apartments be built on it.

Being more jocular about it... perhaps Aldi should build on it. It's an ideal site, with a central location.

Huntthe

In the long term ( and I mean long ) when (ahem) the marina is finished it would be a great site for a Hotel.

Tiradon

I think a decent sized guesthouse (with 5-10 rooms) with a bar could potentially do okay rather than a full scale hotel.

mirrorball

Blandpebbles wrote: »

For the practical developer and the community another hotel is the last thing that should be built there. Even at its height the LaTouche could not garner enough visitors to sustain it as a business, another hotel will equally falter.

How do you figure this? Wasn't it there for over one hundred years before it closed?