Plans for an apartment scheme at Lamb Doyle's pub in Sandyford have been rejected by An Bord Pleanála.

The Morton family, owners of the landmark Lamb Doyle's pub on Blackglen Road, Sandyford, Dublin 18, was seeking to redevelop the pub and build 41 apartments on its grounds.

Two shops and two new entrances on Woodside and Blackglen roads were also planned for the site.

The scheme was given the green light by Dublin City Council late last year, but this decision was appealed to An Bord Pleanála by An Taisce and Kevin and Ann Cullen, of Blackglen Road. The planning board has now overturned the council's decision on a number of grounds, including traffic safety.

The density of the proposed scheme is more appropriate to an inner suburban location, according to the planning board's inspector, who described the scheme as "entirely car dependent" and "unsustainable".

The scheme, according to the inspector, by reason of its height and scale, would create a "highly prominent and unduly obtrusive feature on the landscape".

A similar scheme from the Morton family was also refused planning permission by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council in 2006.