AN BORD Pleanála has overturned the decision of Meath County Council to allow the construction of a business and technology park in the grounds of Carton House, one of Ireland’s most important Georgian mansions.
The joint venture between NUI Maynooth and Glashrooneen Ltd would “seriously injure the setting of Carton House” and would be contrary to the proper and sustainable development of the area, An Bord Pleanála said.
In its ruling An Bord Pleanála describes Carton House and its estate as “one of the most important elements of Ireland’s architectural, cultural and historic heritage” and as having “international significance”.
The house and its lands which straddle the Meath and Kildare border, were in the 18th century home to the Earl of Kildare, but were turned into a luxury hotel and golf resort in the early 1990s despite strenuous objections from An Taisce and the Irish Georgian Society.
Notwithstanding this intervention the estate retained much of its original character and its use as a golf resort was permitted with the objective of preserving the property for future generations, An Bord Pleanála said. “The proposed development, by reason of its nature, scale and location would entirely conflict with such an objective and would interfere with the character of the landscape, which it is necessary to preserve, and would seriously injure the setting of Carton House,” it said.
The development would have seen the construction of 8,431 metres of office space of up to four storeys in height; 9,202 metres of university buildings including a research centre, a sports science building and an innovation centre; and 130 apartments and houses.
Restaurant, creche and retail facilities and 735 surface car parking spaces were also planned on the 34 hectare site on the Co Meath part of the estate.
An Bord Pleanála noted that Meath County Council had zoned the lands for this type of scheme, but said their development would be contrary to the development plan guidelines issued to the local authority by the Department of the Environment.
Development of these lands would also be contrary to the regional planning guidelines for the greater Dublin area, and Meath County Council’s own development plan, the board said.
An Taisce, which had opposed the development yesterday welcomed the board’s decision and said it revealed the impact of ill-considered rezoning.
“The decision is an important precedent for the protection of historic designed parkland and woodland demesne landscapes,” it said.
The Palladian-style house was built in 1739 for the Earl of Kildare, it was landscaped under the supervision of Emily FitzGerald, the first Duchess of Leinster.
Lord Edward FitzGerald, one of the leaders of the 1798 rebellion was born at Carton House. In 1816 the third Duke of Leinster sold Leinster House in Dublin to the RDS and made Carton his main residence.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label carton house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label carton house. Show all posts
Friday, 4 December 2009
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
State could have secured Carton for a small sum
CARTON HOUSE, standing on over 1,100 acres of parkland is enclosed by a five-mile stone wall.
The mansion might have been acquired by the State in the mid-1990s for a relatively small sum. Instead, it became one of several great Irish demesnes to be developed as a luxury golf resort.
Designed by Richard Cassels (or Castle) in 1739 for the Earl of Kildare, it was landscaped under the supervision of Emily FitzGerald, the first Duchess of Leinster, in the then very fashionable jardin anglais manner popularised by Lancelot “Capability” Brown.
The Palladian-style house remained unaltered until 1815, when the third Duke sold Leinster House in Dublin (also by Cassels) to the RDS and made Carton his principal residence. It was then remodelled and “turned around” by Richard Morrison.
Carton, birthplace of Lord Edward FitzGerald, one of the leaders of the 1798 rebellion, not only had a magnificent house but also probably the most important landscaped parkland in Ireland. It was also one of the few great demesnes to survive intact.
Carton was blessed in having the Rye Water running through it. This allowed a lake to be created as a major feature of the parkland, as depicted by Thomas Roberts, the 18th-century landscape painter.
A more unusual feature, the Shell Cottage overlooking the Rye, was added in the early 19th century. Decorated with an extraordinary variety of sea shells, one of its more recent occupants was singer Marianne Faithfull, who lived there in early 1970s.
Having passed from the FitzGeralds into the ownership of Lord Brocket – to meet a gambling debt – the entire demesne was sold in 1977 to Powerscreen Ltd, a Co Tyrone-based firm manufacturing equipment for stone crushing, screening, washing and recycling.
The house and land, then closed to the public, was later acquired by Lee Mallaghan, one of Powerscreen’s directors, and plans were prepared to turn it into a luxury golf resort – first in partnership with the Gleneagles group, then Sheraton and finally Starwood.
Planning permission for a 140-bedroom hotel, a conference centre, two championship golf courses and 78 houses dotted around the demesne was confirmed by Bord Pleanála in 1992, despite strenuous objections from An Taisce and the Irish Georgian Society.
The Hon Desmond Guinness, who founded the society at Carton with his first wife Mariga in 1958 (they had been renting it for a couple of years after their marriage), said it was a “national scandal” that the demesne would now be “irretrievably lost”.
Mr Guinness added: “Such a national treasure, one of the finest in Europe, should not be left in the hands of commercial developers; it deserves State care and attention of the highest order.”
But successive governments remained blind to Carton’s fate.
Lee Mallaghan’s son Conor, who became accustomed to taking flak from conservationists, defended the proposed development.
“If there was to be a mission statement, it would be to bring Carton back to life again and this is the only way to do so,” he said.
The project, designed by architects Murray O’Laoire, included full restoration of the house, at an estimated cost of €12.5 million, with its ground-floor converted into a hotel lobby and function rooms, and the addition of a separate bedroom block and spa.
Carton has established itself as one of the top golf venues in Ireland, hosting the Irish Open in 2005, and membership is expensive.
The 18-hole parkland course was designed by Mark O’Meara, while a second “inland links” course was designed by Colin Montgomerie.
The first batch of 35 new houses on the estate was sold by tender in 2005 at prices ranging from €650,000 to €1.35 million.
Six years earlier, the Government paid nearly €30 million for Farmleigh House near Castleknock, which never ranked in the same league as Carton.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The mansion might have been acquired by the State in the mid-1990s for a relatively small sum. Instead, it became one of several great Irish demesnes to be developed as a luxury golf resort.
Designed by Richard Cassels (or Castle) in 1739 for the Earl of Kildare, it was landscaped under the supervision of Emily FitzGerald, the first Duchess of Leinster, in the then very fashionable jardin anglais manner popularised by Lancelot “Capability” Brown.
The Palladian-style house remained unaltered until 1815, when the third Duke sold Leinster House in Dublin (also by Cassels) to the RDS and made Carton his principal residence. It was then remodelled and “turned around” by Richard Morrison.
Carton, birthplace of Lord Edward FitzGerald, one of the leaders of the 1798 rebellion, not only had a magnificent house but also probably the most important landscaped parkland in Ireland. It was also one of the few great demesnes to survive intact.
Carton was blessed in having the Rye Water running through it. This allowed a lake to be created as a major feature of the parkland, as depicted by Thomas Roberts, the 18th-century landscape painter.
A more unusual feature, the Shell Cottage overlooking the Rye, was added in the early 19th century. Decorated with an extraordinary variety of sea shells, one of its more recent occupants was singer Marianne Faithfull, who lived there in early 1970s.
Having passed from the FitzGeralds into the ownership of Lord Brocket – to meet a gambling debt – the entire demesne was sold in 1977 to Powerscreen Ltd, a Co Tyrone-based firm manufacturing equipment for stone crushing, screening, washing and recycling.
The house and land, then closed to the public, was later acquired by Lee Mallaghan, one of Powerscreen’s directors, and plans were prepared to turn it into a luxury golf resort – first in partnership with the Gleneagles group, then Sheraton and finally Starwood.
Planning permission for a 140-bedroom hotel, a conference centre, two championship golf courses and 78 houses dotted around the demesne was confirmed by Bord Pleanála in 1992, despite strenuous objections from An Taisce and the Irish Georgian Society.
The Hon Desmond Guinness, who founded the society at Carton with his first wife Mariga in 1958 (they had been renting it for a couple of years after their marriage), said it was a “national scandal” that the demesne would now be “irretrievably lost”.
Mr Guinness added: “Such a national treasure, one of the finest in Europe, should not be left in the hands of commercial developers; it deserves State care and attention of the highest order.”
But successive governments remained blind to Carton’s fate.
Lee Mallaghan’s son Conor, who became accustomed to taking flak from conservationists, defended the proposed development.
“If there was to be a mission statement, it would be to bring Carton back to life again and this is the only way to do so,” he said.
The project, designed by architects Murray O’Laoire, included full restoration of the house, at an estimated cost of €12.5 million, with its ground-floor converted into a hotel lobby and function rooms, and the addition of a separate bedroom block and spa.
Carton has established itself as one of the top golf venues in Ireland, hosting the Irish Open in 2005, and membership is expensive.
The 18-hole parkland course was designed by Mark O’Meara, while a second “inland links” course was designed by Colin Montgomerie.
The first batch of 35 new houses on the estate was sold by tender in 2005 at prices ranging from €650,000 to €1.35 million.
Six years earlier, the Government paid nearly €30 million for Farmleigh House near Castleknock, which never ranked in the same league as Carton.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
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