Johnny Ronan suffers fresh planning blow as €50m sports hotel turned down
DEVELOPER Johnny Ronan has suffered a fresh planning blow after Wicklow County Council refused planning permission for his planned €50m ‘sports’ hotel.
The decision follows on from last month’s decision by Dublin City Council to refuse planning for Mr Ronan’s 22storey Aqua Vetro tower on Dublin’s George’s Quay.
The plan by Mr Ronan’s RGRE J& R Valery Ltd involves a 141-bedroom hotel at St Valery’s, Enniskerry, marketed towards the sports tourism sector with a particular emphasis on cycling.
It consists of a fourstorey over-basement hotel including a restaurant, bar and café area.
However, the council refused planning permission on two grounds, stating that the proposal by reason of its scale and bulk would be an intrusive feature and would impact on views from the N11 to St Valery’s and be detrimental to the visual amenities of the area.
The council also said the development of the hotel would be premature pending the determination by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) of a road layout for the area. The decision will result in the loss of 120 potential jobs if it not overturned on appeal to An Bord Pleanála. A previous hotel proposal was turned down for the site but Mr Ronan’s architects stated that bulk and massing of the new proposal had been significantly reduced. A planner’s report by the council in January had recommended refusal. However, Mr Ronan’s firm obtained a six-month extension to the application to allow him time to meet the council’s concerns. The plan was facing opposition from some locals.
WB and MM Somerville told the council that they are objecting to the plan having regard to the scale, seize and height of the hotel.
In a separate objection, Eric and Cara Culliton said the development “would ruin our existing level of privacy as we will be overlooked and destroy our scenic views forever”.
But traders from Enniskerry lodged a submission in support of the proposal stating that the plan will be a hugely beneficial addition to the community and will serve to showcase the beauty of the area.