Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has cleared the way for a luxury spa resort at the foot of the Dublin mountains.
Caspian Country Investments Ltd, whose directors are listed as Maurice Dunne and Miriam Irvine, has been granted planning permission for the venture which is to be called Sandyford Spa Resort.
Located behind Lamb Doyle's pub, off the Blackglen Road on a 55-acre site formerly known as Jennings lands, it will have 14 spa treatment rooms, hydrotherapy facilities, a 25-metre pool, a recreational pool, a 250-bedroom hotel, 35 apart-hotel suites, a conference and banqueting centre, restaurant, café, bars and seven meeting rooms.
It will involve the demolition of a derelict farmhouse and outbuildings, and the building of a single storey hostel. It will also have 443 car-parking spaces and a helipad.
An Taisce objected to the development - it has concerns over the visual impact of the development, its encroachment on the Dublin mountains and its effect of traffic on the area.
It also said that no development should be allowed on the mountain side of the zoning border because, once permitted, it would set a precedent and encourage other developers to take advantage of scenic sites.
