A telecom entrepreneur has been granted planning permission for a multi-million euro project at St Stephen’s Green, in Dublin.

Dennis O’Brien -who bought a run-down Canada House building for €22.8m in the city centre -has been given the thumbs up to demolish the existing five-storey office block and replace it with a seven-storey glass-fronted office building.

O Brien was granted planning permission last year to demolish the existing five-storey office block and replace it with a seven-storey glass-fronted office building. However, alterations to the plan, increasing the size of the building by 1,000 square metres and changing the facade between the ground floor and fifth floor from glazed to a "solid type wall", were submitted earlier this year.

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These changes have now been granted and a courtyard to the rear of the building is being left out. The space will be used for offices instead and there will be a relocation of the pedestrian entrance at St Stephen’s Green South.

At 28 metres in height, the new building will be three metres taller than initially planned and will measure 7,618 square metres.

There will be a double basement and 41 car parking spaces.

The existing building was occupied by Bank of Scotland and estate agent Palmer McCormack. It measures about 3,700 square metres and is set on a 0.15-hectare site.

Dublin City Council granted permission in 2005 for Canada House to be demolished and replaced with a nine-storey building. That development never took place and the plans for the seven-storey building were submitted when the previous permission had almost run out.

(LB/CD)