A major mixed-use scheme in the heart of Clonmel has been refused by An Bord Pleanála because it would "detract from the historic centre" of the town.

Borc Partnership, a local development consortium headed up by Mitchell O'Brien, was looking for permission for a shopping/hotel/residential scheme on the site of the Clonmel Arms Hotel on Sarsfield Street.

The project incorporated apartments, a seven-storey hotel, a 10-unit shopping mall and a multi-storey car park with close to 400 spaces, as well as a medical centre, cafe, bar and restaurant on a one-acre site that runs from O'Connell Street down to the quays. Part of the Georgian hotel and an adjoining Georgian house, both listed buildings, were to be demolished in the project.

The site is also located opposite a national monument, known as Main Guard, which was described by An Taisce as the "most significant 17th century urban public building in Ireland outside Dublin".

The scheme, designed by architects Fewer Harrington Lawlor, was given approval by the local authority last year on the condition that the height of the scheme be reduced to six storeys. The developer had originally looked for planning for a part nine-storey development.

The grant of approval was appealed to An Bord Pleanála by An Taisce and the Department of Environment who argued that the scheme would damage the historic fabric of the town.

In refusing permission for the scheme, the planning board said the proposed development would be excessive in scale and height.

"Coupled with its monolithic form and design, the proposed development . . . would be visually incongruous on the streetscape and would significantly detract from the setting of the Main Guard."

Responding to the decision O'Brien said he was very disappointed and pointed out that car parking is a major issue in the town. A Lansdowne Market Research survey to evaluate local opinion on the proposal found that a big majority was in favour of the scheme, he added.