Crosbie pods plan ‘visually obtrusive and incongruous’
CORPORATE RETREAT PLANNING PERMISSION REFUSED
A PLANNING application for seven ‘pods’ at Kilpatrick, from property developer Harry Crosbie has been refused by Wexford County Council who described the scheme as ‘visually obtrusive and visually incongruous’.
‘The Kilpatrick Corporate Retreat – A Campus for Intellectual Excellence Wexford’ in Castletown would consist of seven habitable isolation pods along the coastline aimed at visitors from ‘large international organisations and academic institutions’. The huts were inspired by Skellig Michael’s isolated beehive huts,
Mr Crosbie, who is best known for developing venues such as 3Arena and Vicar Street, stated in the application that the development, if approved, would put county Wexford on the map, not only creating a tourism related objective, but also encouraging large inward investment from these bodies.
In a letter in The Sunday Times earlier this month, Mr Crosbie said the project would have ‘the lightest touch on its environment.’
‘It could bring prosperity to Wexford — a region I care for and would never do anything to harm,’ Mr Crosbie said in the letter. ‘It would be a loss to the community if this scheme does not happen. It is driven by love rather than money.’
In the decision to refuse permission to the three-storey pods, Wexford County Council said the structures would not fit in with the existing area due to the height, scale and position.
They also stated the potential for the development to have a negative impact on the nearby sand dunes, which are a protected EU Natura 2000 site because of birds and plants. The proposed shared effluent treatment systems for the units wouldn’t be ‘appropriate’ and possibly ‘prejudicial to public health’.
Several letters of objection from the public were also submitted to the Council, including one from famous author Sebastian Barry who is a regular visitor to north Wexford.