AN BORD Pleanála has refused the Portuguese Embassy planning permission to build a theoretical development of nine mews houses on the grounds of Knocksinna House in Foxrock, Co Dublin.
In March we reported how the Portuguese Embassy secured planning permission from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for the small housing scheme in its back yard.
The embassy at that stage told Around the Block it didn't really intend to build the development but was merely looking to know the value of the site.
Permission was granted on the condition that the embassy enters into a contract with the council regarding its social and affordable housing requirement.
An Bord Pleanála has scuppered the plan by ruling against the development on the grounds that the restricted access from Willow Park would result in the loss of a mews building and courtyard - which it says are an integral part of the setting of Knocksinna House - and would have an adverse impact on the setting of nearby house Cranleigh, a protected structure, by reason of visual intrusion.
The board also said that, given the low percentage of the site devoted to public open space, the mews would constitute overdevelopment of the site and provide a substandard level of residential amenity.
Extensive glazing and balconies to the rear would result in an unacceptable degree of overlooking to the gardens of surrounding houses Ribba Dene and Cranleigh, according to the board.
