An Bord Pleanála's rejection of the Citywest convention centre vindicates An Taisce's status under the Planning Act, writes Frank McDonald, Environment Editor.
If An Taisce had been stripped of its status as a "prescribed body", which is what some members of Clare County Council want, Mr Jim Mansfield would have his nearly 6,000-seat convention centre up and running by now.
The trust's designation means that it must be notified of any scheme affecting amenity areas or historic buildings. But in the case of the Citywest proposal, South Dublin County Council failed to fulfil this statutory requirement.
As a result, despite having made no objection when the planning application was under consideration last autumn - as anyone without its status would have had to do - An Taisce was in a position to lodge a valid appeal.
Othwerwise, An Bord Pleanála would never have had an opportunity to rule on whether the Citywest Hotel complex near Saggart, Co Dublin, was the right location for a convention centre of national or international scale.
Even though the planning inspector who dealt with the appeal recommended that permission be granted, the board decided (by a seven-to-one majority) to refuse permission, mainly because of Saggart's relatively remote location.
As it happens, the latest round of "expressions of interest" in building the long-delayed National Conference Centre (NCC) is now under way, and it is known that there are four contenders being considered - including the Citywest Hotel.
The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, told the Dáil on April 6th that the submissions were being evaluated by an assessment panel with a view to the Government making a final decision in the autumn.
He told Ms Liz McManus TD (Labour, Wicklow) that the NCC could be constructed before the end of 2007.
What An Bord Pleanála's decision does is to level the playing field among the contenders, who are known to include property developers Treasury Holdings Ltd, with the Spencer Dock site in Dublin's Docklands as its preferred location. The other contenders are believed to be Leopardstown Racecourse and a site near the Point Depot proposed by the Bennett property group. Had there been no appeal, Mr Mansfield would have been able to complete construction work on the Citywest facility, which he had started even before the county council's decision to approve it had come through last November.
Despite its chequered planning history, which includes a series of retention permissions and a pending prosecution for unauthorised development, both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have held ardfheiseanna there in recent years.
With facilities already on-site in Saggart to cater for 4,000 conventioneers and a new building with seating for nearly 6,000 more, the Citywest complex would have become unbeatable in Ireland as a venue for major conferences. One of the principal beneficiaries would have been the Citywest Hotel itself.