Plans to build a neighbourhood village centre on a pitch and putt course in Stepaside have been refused by An Bord Pleanála.

The proposal by Richmond Properties to build a neighbourhood village centre comprising of 75 apartments, 12 retail units, a convenience store and crèche at Mountain Inn and Mountain View Pitch and Putt Course on the Enniskerry Road in Stepaside, Co Dublin has been the subject of much local controversy.

Last August, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council gave the go-ahead for the scheme subject to 29 conditions. This decision was appealed to the planning board by a number of people, including the Stepaside Area Residents Association and the Stepaside Park Residents Association. The development, on a 1.37-hectare site, would "destroy" the rural/suburban style of Stepaside by replacing it with an "inner city renewal style" of development, the Stepaside Area Residents Association stated in a submission to the planning board.

The height, length and bulk of the scheme is "unacceptably intrusive in the context of its sensitive location" the Stepaside Park Residents Association argued. The planning board has ruled that because of its "excessive scale" the proposed development would be out of character in the village and would "seriously injure" the amenities of Stepaside.

According to the board, the proposed development would constitute an urban form of development, which would be "out of character" in the village and would increase the extent of commercial and residential development in the village. A major part of the site, which is located at the crossroads formed by the Dublin-Enniskerry Road and Stepaside Lane, is zoned with the objective to preserve and provide for open space and recreational amenities, the board noted.

Richmond Properties had planned to demolish the existing Mountain View Inn and construct a new four-storey public house with restaurant. The site, measuring 1.37 hectares, comprises the Mountain View Inn and part of the former Mountain View Pitch and Putt Course.