The Stephen's Green Shopping Centre historic façade should be preserved and any issues with maintenance are the responsibility of the landlord.

That is according to the landlord of George's Street Arcade in Dublin, Gwen Leyden, who is in favour of retaining Dublin's old architecture.

Dublin City Council has raised “serious concerns” over plans for the demolition and renovation of the shopping centre.

A new proposal would give it a major facelift, replacing the glass and ornate ironwork with a new modern design.

But the proposal, which would add, has not been without criticism.

"I think every building gives us a great sense of time in our city and every building represents a different century", Ms Leyden told Lunchtime Live.

"I think the Stephen's Green Centre is a very pretty looking shopping centre and it certainly represents that time."

Ms Leyden's family bough George's Arcade over 30 years ago and, despite the cost, were determined to honour its decades of history.

"We bought the George's Arcade over 30 years ago and 1881 was the day it opened", she said.

"We sold a couple of surrounding upper floors of other buildings in order to fund the restoration."

"We tiled it the way it had been tiled on opening day and brought it all back to exactly its state on opening day."

Maintenance

In a lengthy information request, Dublin City Council has warned that the company that owns Stephen's Green Shopping Centre had failed to justify the level of demolition and alteration proposed and warned that the Architectural Heritage Impact Assessment (AHIA) it submitted “does not adequately address the significance of this building”.

Among other things, it said plans for the eastern façade of the building need to be changed to “avoid a generic approach to the design and cater for a level of sophistication which allows for a more individualistic building”.

Ms Leyden says she and her family "did the opposite" of what is proposed for Stephen's Green.

She says that maintenance is "up to the landlord".

"That's my job and it's the job of the landlord to make sure that your tenants are given a place that is not infested, that is clean, that is properly maintained", she said.

"In my own experience, you can put good tenants ... and you'll have a wonderfully colourful building."

"What we have now is going to be iconic to the people in 100 years time", she said.

Listen back to the full conversation here.

Main image shows a split-screen of St Stephen’s green shopping Centre and a proposal for its renovation. Image: DCC Planning