Residents of Ardmore, Co Waterford, have appealed to An Bord Pleanála to save the picturesque seaside resort's only surviving hotel.
Waterford County Council has approved plans to demolish the Cliff House Hotel and replace it with an "apart-hotel" and holiday homes, including a bar and restaurant and underground parking for 81 cars.
The council warned last March that the existing sewage treatment plant was "incapable of coping with the proposed development in the short [to] medium term without causing water pollution and a genuine risk to public health".
It also noted that the Ardmore water supply was "currently inadequate to cater for peak demands and is incapable of catering for the proposed development without further affecting the supply to existing properties". The stability of the cliff was cited as "a serious matter for concern", and the council requested a detailed geological assessment showing that the development would not affect the cliff face, adjoining roads or properties.
In its view, the mass and scale of the scheme was "completely out of context with the existing development in Ardmore" and should be revised by reducing the height of the central block and eliminating another block to the west.
McGrane and Partners, architects for the hotel's owner, Mr John Foley, subsequently amended the proposed development to omit a block adjoining the entrance to St Declan's Well and reduce the total number of units from 40 to 37.
They also noted that the depth of housing at street level had been reduced, to minimise its scale and mass, and that a "major garden and terrace" was being provided on the rooftops of apartments located below the road.
In response to the council's concerns, the developer was also prepared to accept a condition that the restaurant and bar would not be used until the new sewage treatment plant proposed for Ardmore is fully commissioned.
Following submission of the revised scheme and a meeting with the county manger, Mr Donal Connolly, and the director of services, Mr Denis McCarthy, the council decided to grant permission subject to 25 conditions.
However, An Taisce still had "fundamental concerns" about the scale of the development - a view shared by several local objectors. They expressed concern about the capacity of narrow cliff roads to accommodate heavy construction vehicles, as well as the traffic which the "apart-hotel" and holiday homes would generate in the longer term.
