The news that Foxrock Golf Club is not to be included in a new architectural conservation area (ACA) means its lush green acres might eventually be developed for housing.

Earlier this week Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown councillors voted to accept a draft plan to protect the village itself and Westminster, Torquay and Brighton roads, as well as exclusive Kerrymount Avenue.

This new status will make it much more difficult to develop the Arcadian village and its better roads, where big money has been spent in recent years on potential housing sites.

It's bad news for developers like David Agar, who has assembled an expensive site on Brighton Road, where is hoping to build a number of houses.

It's also a blow for David Arnold who invested heavily in Gortanore, a wooded property adjoining the village, where he is hoping to building very high end apartments and a small number of shops.

The golf club, however, was not included in the new plan. That is good news for the club, its 580-odd members and the mystery developer who had indicated that he would be offering an amazing €400 million for the 50-acre course on Torquay Road.

As far as we know, the offer is still in the post and with the housebuilding industry going through stressful times, the postman is unlikely to knock for at least a year or two.