An Bord Pleanála has ruled in favour of a controversial scheme of 26 homes at Inchydoney Island in Co Cork.

The west Cork Green Party was one of three appellants to An Bord Pleanála against the scheme - made up of holiday homes and permanent dwellings - saying it is inappropriate for the island which is part of the Clonakilty Bay Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and is also a Special Protected Area (SPC) under the Ramsar Convention which designates it as an important feeding and roosting site for birds.

The party also said that a requirement that some of the houses are for people living on the island all year round "is almost impossible to enforce" and these units will be "outside the reach of those most in need of housing in the area".

However, An Bord Pleanála decided that the development - which is made up of mostly three and four-bedroom semi-detached homes - would not seriously injure the visual amenities of the area.

It did, however, reduce the number of permitted houses from 31 to 26 and has allowed for two further single storey houses to be built, subject to a separate planning application.

John Fleming Construction, which owns the Inchydoney Hotel and Spa Resort, will also build a new public roadway on the island.

The west Cork Green Party had opposed the roadway and roundabout, saying they would negatively impact on the visual beauty of the area, which is used by birdwatchers, walkers and pony trekkers.

However, An Bord Pleanála has required that a road safety audit of the proposed development, including all new and revised junctions, should be carried out and that recommendations arising from the audit will be incorporated into a revised design before the development commences.

Last year, a local survey found that only 13 per cent of homes on the Inchydoney Island are occupied year round, with the remainder being holiday homes or second homes.