C of I gets permission for palace

An Bord Pleanála has granted permission with revised conditions for the controversial restoration of the Bishop's Palace in Kilkenny, writes Edel Morgan.

The Church of Ireland is to transfer its operations to a new two-storey See House on the 1.5-hectare site and the Palace, which is a protected structure, is to be transformed and extended into a headquarters for the Heritage Council.

The proposed works have been the subject of dissension as some believe they will compromise the architectural character of the place and the unique setting of the adjacent St Canice's Cathedral.

The plan is to refurbish the three-storey palace and add two single-storey extensions at each gable for an archive store and a staff canteen.

Three parties appealed planning permission granted by Kilkenny Borough Council with one appellant, Johnny Couchman, describing the design of the new building as "in the modern bus shelter idiom . . . totally incongruous and utterly at odds with the style of the old house".

The place lies in a 14th century keep, extended and repaired in the 17th century and again in the 18th century, when four apartments and a staircase were added.

The third storey was incorporated by raising the façade of the house, giving it a Georgian appearance. It is the only remaining pre-Reformation ecclesiastical building that has been in continuous use and is regarded as a building of national importance by a Dúchas study conducted in 1997.

In its appeal, the Irish Georgian Society raised concerns, not only about the break in a long ecclesiastical tradition and use of the building "but because it is recognised that the best and most efficient way to ensure the future of a historic building is usually by maintaining its original use".

The society maintains that one of the ancillary buildings, a 78 sq m (839 sq ft) addition to the house for a small canteen and toilets "has not been justified". Another extension for an archive store "while hidden on the south-east elevation, is awkward in plan, and probably would not work smoothly in practice".

An Taisce appealed on the grounds of the impact of the proposed development on the curtilage and attendant grounds of the protected structure. It maintains there is a clear lack of survey and horticultural data on the garden "which achieved its current dimension in the mid-19th century".

An Bord Pleanála granted permission with 18 conditions. Among the conditions was that a historic landscape report be submitted and that the developer should facilitate the planning authority in an archaeological appraisal of the site. It also asked that revised elevational treatments be submitted for the new See House. Prior to commencement of works, drawings must be submitted showing detailed proposals for the lift lobby at ground to second floor levels of the palace, and for any alterations to panelling, as well as drawings for a new balcony and fire escape stairs to the south-west elevation.

The Church of Ireland, in a press release, has said that correspondents writing on the future of the See House or palace "have tended to present a rather dramatic and pessimistic view . . . while ignoring the more positive aspects of the proposal to transfer this fine old building into the care and trusteeship of the Heritage Council".