Peter Caviston's plans to move his famous Sandycove restaurant have been shot down
The colourful restaurateur ran into bother with planners over a dispute about a laneway.
RESTAURATEUR PETER CAVISTON’S plans to move his popular Sandycove establishment have been shot down by planning officials because of doubts over his legal right to build on the site.
An Bord Pleanála has overturned Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council’s decision to give the green light for Caviston to build a two-storey restaurant in Glasthule because of a dispute over the ownership of a laneway.
A second-generation fishmonger, Caviston had planned to close his existing restaurant and move it to a site 50m away. The restaurant’s present location was to used for an extension of the local food shop that has been in business since the 1940s.
However, the planning board ruled that while the proposed site is “suitable to accommodate a restaurant”, it was not satisfied that Caviston had the “sufficient legal estate or interest” to build there.
The issue was brought to An Bord Pleanála’s attention by local resident Esme Lyttle, one of two people who had appealed the planning permission.
Caviston's Seafood Restaurant
Laneway dispute
Lyttle said that the building would spill onto a laneway that she has owned since the year 2000. She said she had not and would not “issue consent for the inclusion of the lane in the development site”.
For that reason, she argued Caviston had not “established sufficient legal interest in the entirety of the development site”.
A second resident, Catherine Fidgeon, also took issue over the laneway, saying it the development would reduce its width and “threatens the established right-of-way”.
In response to the appeals, architecture firm DMOD sent a letter to the planning board on Caviston’s behalf.
It said that was looking to resolve the dispute over the laneway and that the matter had been “discussed in detail with the planning officer and various amendments were made to this element of the building”.
The letter was signed by DMOD director Coli O’Donoghue, who described Caviston as “a well-known and highly respected retailer and restaurateur in the immediate area”. He said the new restaurant would be “a great addition to the urban life of Glasthule”.
Peter Caviston
However, the planning inspector was not swayed and sided with the appellants.
In his report, inspector Kevin Moore said that the site is suitable to accommodate a restaurant, but he was not satisfied “the applicant demonstrated sufficient legal interest in the lane” and recommended that permission be refused.
Peter Caviston was not available for comment when contacted by Fora, but his son David – who helps run the retail business – said it was “disappointing” that the planning board had refused permission but added: “We will be going ahead with another application”.
Family-owned Caviston’s food shop has been in business since the mid-1940s while the seafood restaurant first opened its doors over two decades ago. It’s run today by Caviston’s sons, Mark and David, although Peter Caviston is still the proprietor.
Caviston is well-known in south county Dublin and has dined with celebrities such as television host Michael Parkinson. He was once described by writer Marilyn Bright as one of the Irish food scene’s most “colourful” characters.
According to its most recent set of accounts, the company behind Caviston’s reported a profit of just over €57,000 for the financial year ended 31 December 2015, pushing accumulated profits to almost €3 million.
