Wicklow County Council [WCC] has granted permission to turn the site of 2 Main Street into a guest house. The building has been vacant since a fire broke out on the premises in 2019. WCC has granted permission to revamp the three-storey building into a boutique-style guest house with 17 rooms, providing some well-needed accommodation in the popular tourist town.
The application was submitted by Architecture Ink, on behalf of Multilane Limited, who according to TheIndependent.ie is a subsidiary of the Duggan family. The family are synonymous with some of Bray’s most popular hospitality spots, running the likes of Frank Duff’s, Platform Pizza, the Martello and the Harbour Bar.
The ground floor of the unit has gone through a couple of iterations, previously a pub and more recently, a pharmacy, which according to the estate agents’ H J Byrne “has not been affected by the fire”. On January 4th 2019, three units of the fire brigade from Bray, Greystones and Wicklow Town attended to fight the blaze in the upstairs of Hilton’s Pharmacy which was ultimately brought under control with thankfully no injuries.
While not listed as a protected structure, as part of the WCC application approval the brick façade of the “historic building” dating back to the early 1900s needs to be protected. Adding that the integrity of the building must be maintained, with all finishes and materials should be of high quality.
Beyond the façade, little of the original building remains, with some stabilising and work to protect the unit from the elements carried out since 2019, including replacing the flooring, roofing and windows. The proposal is to fully renovate and restore the underutilised town centre building into well-needed tourist accommodation, with the Duggan fam behind it we’ve no doubt that it will be the place to stay in the town.
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