2460585
permission for the erection of five detached single storey pods each of which would accommodate a studio style holiday dwelling containing a bedroom, kitchenette and toilet with shower and wash-hand basin, to be clad in timber and metallic sheeting and covered with a mono-pitch roof. A single metallic sheeting and covered with a mono-pitch roof sauna. These units would be served by individual soakpits and a gully, a communal wastewater treatment system and soil polishing filter, a new well for potable water purposes, a vehicular driveway with five car parking bays therein and all site works including landscaping and the formation of clay banks. This development is to be accessed via and entrance and driveway which was permitted by the Council under reg. 2225 and which has already been constructed. This development contravenes condition 6 of permission reg. 2225 (which states that ‘Existing shrub and tree vegetation…shall be retained, particularly along the entire roadside boundary’ to the degree that many trees were lost during violent storms in the year 2023 and the present application seeks to provide replenishment planting through a wholly new landscaping scheme, which forms part of this current submission and associate works
Core Refusal Reason
The proposed development is located in a rural area (AONB) and fails to demonstrate a locational necessity for a rural site, thereby contravening County Development Plan objectives that prioritize tourism accommodation within established settlements.
Decision Maker's Conclusion
- The development is located in a rural area removed from any settlement and fails to meet the criteria for tourism facilities that are dependent on a rural location.
- The proposal materially contravenes Objectives CPO 11.3 and 11.4 of the Wicklow County Development Plan 2022-2028, which require such developments to be located within existing towns and villages.
- Granting permission would result in the erosion of the rural character of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (Mountain Uplands) and set an undesirable precedent for footloose rural development.