Kilkenny Borough Council has requested detailed further information from the Church of Ireland on a controversial plan to turn the Bishop's Palace in Kilkenny into offices for the Heritage Council.
The plan, for which permission is being sought, has been heavily criticised by An Taisce on the grounds that it would compromise the architectural character of the palace itself and the unique setting of St Canice's Cathedral.
The palace is a protected structure.
The proposed abandonment of the Bishop's Palace in favour of a new See House, to be constructed on a nearby site close to the cathedral, has been a matter of considerable controversy within the Church of Ireland, both locally and nationally over the last few years.
Apart from a change of use to offices for the Heritage Council, the planning application - lodged on behalf of the church by Waterford-based architects Tritschler and Associates - also envisages two single-storey extensions, including a glazed "garden pavilion".
In a lengthy submission to the borough council, Mr Ian Lumley, An Taisce's heritage officer, said that the Bishop's Palace in Kilkenny was "the only pre-Reformation residential ecclesiastical building remaining continuously inhabited for its original use".
As the Church of Ireland itself noted, "its origins lie in a 14th century keep, extended and repaired in the 17th century and \ was more or less in its present form by 1739", apart from the subsequent raising of its Georgian facade to incorporate an attic storey. In its planning application, the church also conceded that the building "is in generally good condition, having been well maintained" over the years.
According to Mr Lumley, no justification has been provided for converting it to office use by the Heritage Council.
The council has been based in one of the late-medieval courtyard buildings of Rothe House, on Parliament Street.
It had considered equally contentious plans for a new building to the rear prior to setting its sights on the Bishop's Palace.
Mr Lumley said An Taisce would be sympathetic to the Heritage Council acquiring a suitable building in Kilkenny, but it believed this should be a "building at risk", such as the former Evans Poor House, which is owned by Kilkenny County Council. "An Taisce would not consider the Bishop's Palace in Kilkenny is a building at risk, as the maintenance and continuation of its existing use is entirely viable," he said.
"We consider that no argument has been put forward as to why the existing use is no longer viable," he added.
Converting the palace into offices would "create a whole series of requirements under fire regulations as well as pressures for alterations and extensions to the building, which would be detrimental to its character", Mr Lumley warned in his submission.
"The maintenance of the integrity of the building, its curtilage, its landscaped setting and relationship to the unique St. Canice's Cathedral Close, of which the palace is a part, would best be secured by the continued use of the palace for its original purpose."
When the issue of relocating the See residence from the historic Bishop's Palace to a new house first arose, he said An Taisce was reluctant to intervene in the debate.
But it now believed that the Church of Ireland's internal critics were "entirely justified".
Not only would extensions to the palace have an injurious effect on its character, but the proposed new See House within its grounds "would be contrary to the relevant designations of the site, both under the National Monuments Acts and under the Planning Act".
According to Mr Lumley, the new house "would form a visually intrusive and centrally dominant feature in the planned garden area attached to the palace. It would, therefore, seriously diminish the integrity of . . . the curtilage of a protected structure."
An Taisce's submission also criticised the design of the proposed two-storey house. "It is a confused building, containing a melange of pastiche historical references, awkwardly used, including Tudor-style hood mouldings over the windows", it said.
In its request for additional information, Kilkenny Borough Council has asked for an archaeological report on the site as well as a traffic-impact assessment of the proposed change of use and details of the impact of fire safety regulations on the fabric of the palace.
It is also seeking more detailed drawings of the interior, including carved timber door and window architraves, as well as photographs, roof plans and drawings showing the evolution of the existing building and its relationship with the replacement house.
The Church of Ireland Representative Body has been informed that its planning application is being "held in abeyance" pending receipt of this information.
But whatever decision the borough council eventually makes, it is certain to end up with An Bord Pleanála.
