A development of 67 houses will go ahead opposite Slane Castle, Co Meath, despite claims by An Taisce that it will impact on nearby protected structures. The scheme is on a site sold to a developer by Lord Mount Charles two years ago.
The protected structures - a gamekeeper's cottage built in the 1600s and a walled garden created in the 1770s - are on the 13-acre site, which was formerly part of Slane Demesne.
An Bord Pleanála granted permission to Pinebank Homes Ltd to build 67 houses overlooking the river Boyne, to restore the gamekeeper's lodge and a install a new sewerage treatment plant.
An Taisce said the site notice seeking planning permission failed to refer to the gamekeeper's lodge and the garden was insufficiently described. It said the density of the development is excessive at 15 dwellings per hectare and the design of the buildings is poor and "fails to recognise any landscape setting that is currently enjoyed by the protected structures". An Taisce contended the development would impose "a wholly inappropriate character" on an environment that is "deeply rural and sensitive in character".
An Bord Pleanála disagreed, however, and ruled in favour of the development. The directors of Pinebank Homes Ltd are Richard Heaney and Gerard McLaughlin.
