A decision by An Bord Pleanála to refuse planning permission for a business and technology park in Mount Kennedy demesne at Kilpedder, Co Wicklow, has been welcomed by An Taisce.
The scheme had been appealed to the planning board by the environmental charity after permission had been granted by Wicklow County Council.
The proposed development, which would have consisted of 34 mixed light industrial and business buildings, was due to be built within the house's curtilage.
Mount Kennedy House is a fine 18th-century estate house designed by Thomas Cooley based on previous plans by the renowned English architect, James Wyatt. The building is also noted for its plasterwork by Michael Stapleton, as well as other period architectural details.
The reasons for rejection by the planning board include reference to "dependence on the car as a primary mode of transportation", "existing deficiency in the provision of public piped water supplies" and that it "would be contrary to the principles of sustainable development as set out in the regional planning guidelines for the greater Dublin area".
Noting that the site proposed lay within the demesne of Mount Kennedy House, the board also stated that if the scheme were permitted, it would "result in serious injury to the visual amenity of Mount Kennedy demesne".
The site lies about a mile outside Newtownmountkennedy, just off the main Dublin-Rosslare N11 road. The development had proposed to construct a 1km link road to the N11 Newtownmountkennedy interchange. However the board said "this would seriously prejudice the level of service and capacity of the N11, would reduce the effectiveness of public investment in this national primary route" and "adversely affect the use of the national road by traffic."
An Taisce's heritage officer Ian Lumley welcomed the decision.
Wicklow County Council senior executive officer Tom Murphy said the council had not had the chance to study it in detail, but it would be "examining reasons for refusal attached to the decision".