Residents ‘disgusted’ as Wicklow Arms plans given go-ahead
MEMBERS of Delgany Community Council are ‘disgusted’ that An Bord Pleanala has approved development at the Wicklow Arms site.
‘ The general opinion is that the inspector accepted everything that the developer’s people said and didn’t really listen to what we had to say,’ said David Walsh, PRO of the council.
He said that they haven’t scheduled a meeting to take any further steps. ‘We don’t think a judicial review would be appropriate as we don’t have the grounds,’ he said.
The village-centre development includes 22 dwellings, retail, office and restaurant space.
The authority signed off on the permission last Thursday. Wicklow County Council granted permission last year to Cruslim Property Limited, however a number of individuals and organisations appealed, including Delgany Community Council and Bellevue Court Residents Association.
The plans include the development of 12 town houses, 10 apartments and two retail units and three office units, as well as the demolition of old single-storey farmer cottages.
The cottages currently house a photography studio and printers and would be replaced by a landscaped car park.
Access to the development would be through Bellevue Court.
Some of the objections to the plans included access for houses through Bellevue court, the height of the development, and the demolition of cottages on the site.
The Wicklow Arms public house itself is a protected struc- ture and the demolition works do not relate to any aspect of the protected part.
The planned development includes a mix of semi-detached and detached three-bedroom houses; two one-bedroom apartments and eight two-bedroom apartments.
The commercial element of the scheme includes redevelopment of the Wicklow Arms including alterations to provide for a change of use from public house to restaurant.
A previous application by Cruslim Properties was rejected by planners as ‘incomplete’.