Property tycoon Jim Mansfield will now have to demolish his partly-built convention centre at his Citywest Hotel complex near Saggart, Co Dublin, after An Bord Pleanála decided yet again to refuse permission for the €50 million scheme.
South Dublin County Council (SDCC) had no statement to make last night, but one senior official source said the appeals board was the "final arbiter" in planning matters, and it was now "inevitable" that an enforcement notice would be issued to have the unauthorised structure removed.
A brief statement from Citywest Hotel described An Bord Pleanála's decision as disappointing.
"We will look at our options when we see the full report from the board. A detailed statement will be issued at that stage."
Mr Mansfield's company, HSS Ltd, had sought permission to retain and complete the 6,000-seat convention centre at his Citywest Hotel and Leisure Resort complex, which already has convention facilities for 4,000 people.
However, a decision last November by SDCC to approve the plan - after its members had rezoned the site for convention-centre use - was appealed by An Taisce and a company controlled by businessman Harry Crosbie.
Mr Crosbie owns the Point theatre in Dublin's Docklands and is planning to double its capacity. He is also a partner with Treasury Holdings and CIÉ as the preferred bidder for the development of a national conference centre at Spencer Dock.
In its decision to refuse permission for the Citywest scheme, An Bord Pleanála said such a major facility "should be located in a core commercial area, such as city centre or major town centre, in order to avail of a range of public transport options".
It should also have "full access to supporting facilities [recreational, accommodation and cultural]" whereas the Citywest site was "outside any designated urban area, remote from public transport infrastructure and other complementary facilities".
Because the proposed convention centre would be "reliant primarily on private transport" it would contravene the policies set out in the regional planning guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area to reduce the growth in demand for transport.
The appeals board took into account the plan to extend the Luas Red line to Citywest under Transport 21, but its ruling noted that the terminus would be at Fortunestown Lane - "over one kilometre from the site of the proposed convention centre".
Notwithstanding the November 2004 decision by South Dublin councillors to rezone the site by 21 votes to three, the board ruled the HSS scheme would be "contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area".
Essentially, An Bord Pleanála has reaffirmed its decision in April 2004 to uphold an earlier appeal by An Taisce and refuse planning permission for the development of a centre billed as being of national or international importance at Citywest.
In that ruling, the board noted that the location was outside the urban area and remote from public transport, infrastructure and other complementary facilities.
A huge portal-frame steel structure had already been erected on the site, and HSS was subsequently fined €1,750 and ordered to pay costs of almost €30,000 to the council for failing to comply with an enforcement order to stop work on the centre.
However, enforcement proceedings were suspended after the councillors voted to rezone the site, thus paving the way for HSS to submit a fresh planning application to retain the unauthorised structure and complete the proposed development.
Welcoming the latest refusal of permission, An Taisce called on the council to "take immediate action" to ensure that the structure is dismantled. It also suggested that the steel could be "re-used in an authorised industrial site in another location".
Cllr Derek Keating (Ind), who was one of the three council members to vote against the rezoning, said people "will only believe that the planning system works when they see unauthorised developments like this taken down. But I'll believe it when I see it."
HSS has already been refused planning permission by the appeals board for major developments at Weston aerodrome, near Lucan, Co Dublin, and Palmerstown Demesne, near Naas, Co Kildare.
"The right decision has been made," said Green Party environment spokesman Ciarán Cuffe TD. "Whether people are building a conference centre or a home extension, they should adhere to our planning laws instead of building first and only applying for planning retention afterwards."
