An Bord Pleanala has revoked planning permission for a £120 million ski and leisure complex at Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow, that was to have housed Europe's largest indoor ski slope and a tropical pool centre.

The size and nature of the development was found to be out of scale for this rural area - the retail element in particular. Last week's decision came as a blow to the developer, Norpark Investments, which was initially granted permission for the development this time last year.

Described as an "integrated indoor tourist, leisure and recreational complex", the project was to have been the first of its kind in Ireland with an indoor 250 m real snow ski slope - the largest indoor ski slope anywhere in Europe according to the developers - and ski village with a 281bedroom hotel as the centre-piece of the complex enclosed within a large dome.

But this description fails to give an indication of the scale of what might have heralded a new generation of leisure/entertainment facilities in Ireland, similar to that provided by the Odyssey centre in Belfast. The "scale" of the proposed leisure/ retail element in the out of town location was cited as one of the key reasons by An Bord Pleanala for its refusal of planning permission, particularly because of "the size and location of existing retail shopping outlets in Newtownmountkennedy". The board said that because of the dependence on the car as the primary mode of transportation and the extent and size of the population of its potential catchment area, the scheme would be contrary to the principles of sustainable development.

Along with the slope and ski village, there was to have been a large indoor tropical oasis area with pool and leisure facilities; a family entertainment centre to incorporate bars, restaurants and a nightclub; a five-screen multiplex cinema; a 4,000 seat multi-purpose venue; 198 tourism shared ownership apartments/aparthotel units; south sea world; a visitor centre which was to accommodate a large number of retail units - all under a single domed roof. An 18-hole executive golf course and club house outside were also proposed as part of the complex.

Norpark Investments Ltd, with an address at Rathmines Park, Dublin 6, was given the go ahead for the project to be built at a 75-acre site at Model World, Ballinahinch Lower, just outside Newtownmountkennedy, by Wicklow County Council in February 2000.

Norpark Investments is made up of a consortium that includes Irish and international investors, including a Birmingham-based leisure manufacturing company. A group of local residents, along with the Newtownmountkennedy Area Development Action Group, appealed the initial planning decision.

The leisure complex was to have catered for several thousand customers at any given time and would have provided employment for over 800 people. Norpark investments marketed the complex as a major addition to the tourism infrastructure of Wicklow, stressing the extra hotel accommodation that the centre would provide.

One of the big attractions at the centre was to be the fresh snow that would have been produced each day to be blown on to the slope and the ski village that nestles at the end of the slope. Visitors to the centre could have relaxed apres ski watching the snow fall. For those who prefer hotter climes, the developers also planned to include an indoor tropical swimming area and a meandering heated river, suitable for snorkelling. The pool area was to have its own beach, made of crushed marble, with a range of bars and refreshment areas. Architects for the complex, Rowe and Associates of Rathmines, Dublin 6, designed the building to be fully in control of its environment. The dome roof blocks the natural sunlight and a computer controlled system offered both day and night-time settings.

The local golf club in Newtownmountkennedy, Druid's Glen, has hosted the international Murphy's Irish Open Golf Championship for a few years running and has experienced the huge volumes of traffic that the event attracts. An Bord Pleanala notes that "having regard to the existing road network and the potential of the development to generate significant traffic volumes, it is considered that the development of the kind proposed would be premature pending the determination by the planning authority of a road layout for the area or any part thereof".

The new complex would have included an executive 18-hole golf course, slightly shorter than standard, which allows for a quicker round, designed by Pat Ruddy, who also created the Druids Glen course.

Mr Tony Manahan of Manahan and Associates, acting on behalf of the local residents who lodged the appeal against the initial decision, said they were delighted with last week's decision. "We are very happy that this complex has been refused planning permission. The height and size of the development were completely out of scale with this area of countryside," he said. "Hidden in this domed complex was a huge volume of retail units in what could only have been classified as an out of town shopping centre, and the authorities must have recognised this."