Plans to demolish a late Victorian house in Clontarf and build 54 apartments have been refused by Dublin City Council, writes Fiona Tyrrell

Redcourt House, located on a secluded 1.65-acre site on Seafield Road East, sold for €7.5 million last June, €3.3 million over its guide price. Just before Christmas Mark Piggott of the Redcourt Partnership, 22 Seafield Road West, applied for permission to demolish the four-bedroom house and build a four-storey apartment block of 13 one-bedroom and 41 two-bedroom apartments.

In refusing permission for the scheme, the council stated that the site is zoned Z2, which has a stated objective of protecting or improving amenities of residential conservation areas. "This zoning objective seeks to protect and improve the amenities of this site of which the only house on site, Redcourt, is an intrinsic element." Originally the house stood on far larger grounds but a major slice was sold off to build Redcourt Oaks, a neighbouring complex of apartments and duplexes.