Scuppered in Shankill: An Bord Pleanála has scuppered plans to build two three-storey apartment blocks at Eaton Brae House, a protected structure, in Shankill, Co Dublin.

The plan was to refurbish the main house and convert it into four apartments, demolish a 1970s two-storey extension to the north of the main house and build two blocks of 34 apartments.

Eaton Brae is a detached three-bay two-storey over lower ground Victorian villa. The exterior of the house is dominated by an enclosed porch which is noteworthy for its granite columns.

The developers - B Costello, L Maye, B Meagher and J O'Reilly - appealed to An Bord Pleanála against a decision by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to refuse planning permission.

An Bord Pleanála ruled that the development of new apartment blocks "without reference to or resolution of the works to be undertaken on the original protected structure would constitute piecemeal development".

It also said the introduction of traffic and car-parking along the boundaries of the site close to residential property and "the resultant lack of planting and screening along these boundaries would injure amenities by reason of noise, general disturbance and visual impact".

Kinnity Castle keen to expand

Kinnity Castle in Offaly where Ozzie Osbourne's son, Louis, married Dublin actress Louise Lennon is looking to expand its hotel operation by converting the second yard stables into 15 bedrooms and a two-bedroom suite and a 10-bedroom extension to the back of the hotel. Limerick man Con Ryan and his Flemish wife, Kathleen, who paid £250,000 for the castle and 65 acres, opened the Gothic Revival castle as a hotel in 1994 after initially considering opening it as a heritage centre.

The former home of the Bernard family, Kinnitty Castle dates back to the early 19th century. It was bought by the State and converted to a forestry school in the 1950s. It was later owned by Shannon Development between 1990-1994.