An Coimisiún Pleanála has rejected plans for a Kildare town residential development over design concerns and its potential impact on the area's architectural heritage.
The development on Dublin Road proposed four semi-detached houses alongside a two-storey building containing five apartments.
According to KFM, the applicants appealed Kildare County Council’s initial refusal, but the Commission upheld the rejection overruling its own inspector, who had recommended conditional approval.
Located within the Kildare Town Architectural Conservation Area, the site was deemed incompatible with the surrounding neighborhood's character and setting, the news outlet reported.
According to Kildare Live, the commission stressed that "the proposed development would represent an unsympathetic and poor quality design response to the character, setting, and significance of the Kildare Town ACA.”
The Commission expressed serious concerns over Block A’s proximity to the south-western boundary, the awkward join between the 19th-century structure and the proposed extension, and a two-storey addition that projected past the existing gable to create a visually intrusive intersection at the eaves.
The news outlet also stated that the Commission also cited poor living conditions for future occupants.
While agreeing with the inspector that a modern design could suit the constrained site, planners rejected the specific proposal. They echoed the Architectural Conservation Officer's view that the design was of low quality and would fail to integrate into the existing townscape.
