Campaigners for the preservation of one of Ireland's oldest round towers have won their battle to stop a development being built next to the national monument in Clondalkin, Co Dublin.
South Dublin County Council yesterday refused planning permission to developer Mr Rory Burgess for a bar/restaurant and apartment complex on an 0.4 acre site within metres of the 8th century tower.
The council's planners turned down the application on a number of grounds, including that it would "materially affect a protected structure" and could cause "serious traffic congestion".
The refusal follows a "huge volume of objections" to the development, a council official said, including a recommendation from the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, that permission should not be granted.
A letter from the Department of the Environment to the council said the proposed development "would have a seriously-damaging impact on the character and setting of Clondalkin round tower". This point is listed by the council as a reason for refusal.
The council said the lack of off-street parking in Mr Burgess's plans would lead to on-street parking and increasing traffic congestion.
The proposed public house "contravened development objectives" in the local authority's 1998 development plans in regard to the zoning of land. The development site would also affect the wider Tower Road area, which is an architectural conservation area.
Local campaigners for the preservation of the tower last night welcomed the council's decision. "We're very, very pleased; all the grounds on which we were opposed to and objected to the development seem to have been taken on board by the council, and sense has prevailed," said Ms Bernardine Nic Giolla Phádraig, chairwoman of Rally Round The Tower.
If Mr Burgess was considering appealing or reapplying for planning permission, she hoped the scope of the refusal "would be enough to put him off".
Mr Burgess said he was disappointed with the decision, and added that he intends to appeal.
