WELL over 20 years after it was destroyed by fire, Powerscourt Rouse, in Co Wicklow, is set to reopen to the public in June. This follows the conversion of its once derelict ground floor into a large shop and restaurant.
Dr Michael Slazenger, whose family has owned the 14,000 acre demesne since the early 1960s, said this was "the culmination of a 20 year dream", adding that it marked the first phase of developing the house, at a cost of £5 million.
The ground floor area of some 10,000 square feet has been leased to the Avoca Handweavers Groups and will comprise a 200 seat restaurant, a cafe bar and private diningroom, as well as a shop selling a broad range of merchandise.
However, it emerged yesterday that plans to restore the house are still quite tentative. Ms Sarah Slazenger, marketing manager, said: "We would hope that the main entrance hall and the ballroom would be fully restored eventually."
The house, one of Ireland's most important stately homes, was destroyed by fire in November 1974. Until the recent building work got under way, it stood as a gaunt ruin in the spectacular setting of an Italianate terraced garden.
Its restoration, at an estimated cost of £7 million, was the principal selling point of a major development plan for Powerscourt in 1992, initiated by the Slazenger family in partnership with a Dublin accountant, Mr Kieran Corrigan.
The plan - drawn up by the National Building Agency, of which Mr Corrigan was chairman - envisaged restoring the house in return for permission to develop a hotel, two golf courses and 350 houses on portions of the estate.
It was a particularly controversial scheme in the picturesque estate village of Enniskerry, where people feared that their environment would be affected by the additional traffic it would almost inevitably generate.
Senator Shane Ross, a member of Wicklow County Council, said at the time: "If I had to make a choice between the restoration of the house and retaining the special character of the village, I would stand by the village any day."
Despite many local objections, the county council decided to grant planning permission for the proposed development. This was confirmed by An Bord Pleanala on appeal in a 48 page decision, issued in October 1992.
The board's ruling specifically linked the construction of new houses at the Enniskerry side of the estate with steps to restore Powerscourt House. As each tranche of housing was completed, work was to be carried out on the ruined house.
Some 45 new houses at Eagle Gate were sold in March 1996, at prices ranging from £228,000 to £285,000. There is approval for 150 houses at this location.
However, Ms Slazenger said the 1992 planning permission had been replaced with a new permission last summer by Wicklow County Council, which linked the new housing to a requirement that Powerscourt House must be open to the public.
The latest permission, which was not appealed to An Bord Pleanala, provides for visitor facilities in the house, including an exhibition outlining the history of Powerscourt. Under the 1992 permission, the house was to be a hotel.
"There was never an intention that the house would be fully restored as it was before the fire. That would be totally impractical and out of the question," she said.
"What we're doing now is to prevent it falling down."
Since last summer, the house has been re roofed and floors have been installed.
