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Wednesday, 3 October 2007

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Bono's hotel plans provoke fury

Spaceship-style dome angers conservationists

Bono’s plans to turn his Dublin hotel into a space-age landmark have caused uproar in Ireland’s capital.

The U2 singer, who owns the Clarence Hotel with guitarist The Edge, wants to create a hovering spaceship-shaped glass dome above the building, which has been described as a 'white halo'.

The plans by London architect Lord Foster would turn the relaxed boutique hotel into an ultra-chic Dublin icon.

But it's provoked fury from An Taisce, the Irish equivalent of the National Trust, because the plans involve taking over nearby Georgian buildings and destroying all but their facades.

The hotel is also in a designated conservation area.

'It is the sort of scheme which could be developed with advantage on an unconstrained development site, particularly in the docklands,' says An Taisce to the Independent.

While it’s former chairman Michael Smith, describes it as 'entirely inappropriate'.

Bono is yet to reply to their claims.

Phil Boucher