The one-time Riverdance star, Michael Flatley, has been refused planning permission to install a sweeping flight of steps at the entrance to his mansion near Fermoy, Co Cork.
Though his scheme to replace the original entrance steps at Castle Hyde had been approved last December by Cork County Council, this decision has now been overturned by An Bord Pleanála on foot of an appeal by An Taisce.
In its ruling, the board said the proposed development would involve "the removal and replacement of a significant architectural element" of the early 19th-century building, which is a protected structure under the 2000 Planning Act. The new steps would "materially and adversely affect the character" of the neo-classical house and "would, therefore, be contrary to the proper planning and development of the area, including protection of its architectural heritage".
Mr Flatley, who is something of an expert on steps, could not be contacted last night to comment on this setback to his plans for Castle Hyde. An Taisce welcomed the decision. Its planning officer, Mr John O'Sullivan, said the scheme which included an elaborate balustrade, was "basically inappropriate for a protected structure".
He said the case was "symptomatic of problems we're having throughout the country because relatively well-off people are buying historic buildings with the notion that they can add vast extensions and completely modernise them".
Describing this phenomenon as "a form of facadism", Mr O'Sullivan said local authorities were "incredibly reluctant to refuse these people permission, especially if they happen to be famous, and were buying an image rather than a reality".
Although An Taisce welcomed the fact that people were buying period houses, "what we're saying is that they must respect the character of the house and adapt themselves to the property rather than the other way around", he added.
Mr Flatley announced last year that he was hanging up his dancing shoes to retire to his Cork mansion, which is the ancestral home of Ireland's first president, Douglas Hyde. Last year, his wealth was estimated at €540 million. He bought the property in July 1999, for a reported £3 million (€3.8 million). The purchase price for the house, which was built in 1801, included 150 acres of pasture and woodland on the banks of the River Blackwater.
Unusually, Castle Hyde is the subject of a section 38 covenant under the 1963 Planning Act between its former owners and Cork County Council under which they agreed to conserve the house and what is left of its once extensive estate.
