Proposals to change the design of hotel and holiday cottages planned for a site near the Rock of Cashel have been rejected by An Bord Pleanála, following an appeal by the original architect of the development.
Developer Liam Campion had been granted permission for amendments to his planned 120-bedroom four-storey over basement hotel and 52 two-storey cottages by South Tipperary County Council last January, subject to 30 conditions.
But now the proposed changes have been refused in a successful appeal made to the planning board by the architect stated to be responsible for the previously permitted development, James A McIlvenna, Broomfield Mews, Malahide, Co Dublin.
It is stated in the report that the applicant decided to terminate the appointment of the appellant and sought an alternative architect with significant and extensive hotel experience, capable of steering the landmark development to completion within a tight programme to meet capital allowance tax benefits.
It was submitted by the developer that the basis of appeal related to the appellant's loss of the original project, for which he was the architect, and not the details of the current scheme.
Among the alterations to the original plans being sought by Mr Campion at the site at Ballypadeen was a reduction in the number of bedrooms in the hotel to 93. Other alterations sought include omission of a ground floor function room in the hotel, to be replaced by a landscaped courtyard garden, and extension and reconfiguration of the upper ground floor function room; omission of a helicopter pad, and changes in car parking.
Mr McIlvenna argued that that description of the proposed development as "minor alterations" to approved permission was "unbelievable" and that the changes to the original plans were so extensive as to warrant a fresh planning application.
The board's inspector noted that the 6.1 hectare site was located 1½km northeast of Cashel, and highly visible from the Rock of Cashel.
The inspector said that the proposed site was highly exposed and would in some ways challenge the dominance of the Rock of Cashel. "Therefore I consider it highly inappropriate as a location for such a large development in terms of its impact on the visual amenities of the area."