Within the next week or so people in Killarney should know if an area within the town they hold precious has been preserved.
The great British architect, Pugin, designed one of the few glories of Killarney architecture, St Mary's Cathedral, and its nearby monastery. In designing St Mary's, Pugin enjoyed complete freedom. His eldest son, Edward Pugin, who echoed his father's career, was quoted as saying that of all the churches Pugin snr had designed, St Mary's was closest to his heart.
But Pugin comes into this only in a peripheral way. As you drive along New Street in Killarney, one of the town's few other architectural gems because of its old-style terracing, the road leads to St Mary's. Then there is St Brendan's College, the Bishop's Palace and the Presentation Convent, all built after the style of Pugin in native Killarney stone.
Across from these buildings is the former diocesan presbytery which has now been sold by the church authorities. The sale is anathema to the Killarney Environs Protection Group because it reckons the "ecclesiastical enclave" is a special part of the town.
The plan is to demolish the presbytery to make way for a hotel. The group said No to this proposal and won an appeal to An Bord Pleanala some months ago. Originally the developer, Elite Catering, was seeking permission to erect a 55-bedroom hotel.
Traffic congestion, says the group, is already a problem in the area, with up to 1,800 school-going students coming and going each day. But a revised planning application has been lodged, this time for a 42-bedroom hotel with bar and restaurant.
After the local authority granted the application the Killarney Environs Protection Group lodged an appeal, which is now at hearing. The presbytery itself is not of architectural significance but, given the beautiful buildings nearby, the group argues that the area is.
As it stands the schools, the cathedral and a local funeral home draw enough cars into a busy junction. The group wants no more. In its refusal of the first application, An Bord Pleanala cited traffic congestion as one of the difficulties. The Killarney Environs Protection Group believes the revised plan won't alleviate the problem.