The entrance to the site on the old golf course beside St Mary’s GAA Club
Former Citywest Hotel owners ‘strongly disagree’ with council decision
The former owners of Citywest Hotel are appealing against a council decision that re-grading works on a playing pitch on the former hotel golf course is not an exempted development.
Cape Wrath Hotel, a subsidiary of Tetrarch Capital that operated the Citywest Hotel before its sale to the Government last year, have lodged an appeal after the council declared that their proposal to regrade “the existing ground profile with surplus pitch material” on part of the Executive Golf Course is not an exempted development.
In their appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála, Cape Wrath Hotel said that the “provision of the playing pitch at this location was determined to be exempted development under SDCC Ref. ED18/0036 and ED21/0004 and the relocation of the additional material to the adjoining land will allow the final delivery of the playing pitch”.
“It was proposed to regrade the existing ground profile of the land with surplus materials no longer required for the provision of a playing pitch on the former golf course lands to result in approximately an additional 1.5m of soil depth and a reduction of approximately 0.6m of soil depth at the playing pitch,” they said.
The playing pitch is used by St Mary’s GAA Club, and is located on part of the former Executive Golf Course lands still owned by Tetrarch, at St Mary’s Park Road, Moneyatta Commons.
However South Dublin County Council ruled in January 2026 that proposed development “would not be exempted development having regard to the Planning and Development Act 2000 and the Planning and Development Regulations 2001” and would require planning permission.
Cape Wrath Hotel said they “strongly disagree with the determination of SDCC as we consider that its conclusion is largely based on an incorrect interpretation of the definition of a ‘structure’ under the Acts”.
The council had also stated that among other information, the applicant had not provided details about the volume of material to be moved, how it would be moved, the rationale for its removal from the pitch or of any potential environmental impacts on either site after the soil was moved.
“The relocation of the materials will serve to finalise the layout of the playing pitch (as previously determined to be exempted development) and use the surplus materials to reprofile the area of the former Golf Course,” the appeal read.
It also included details of how the soil would be moved, and stated that as per “previous declarations made by SDCC on the same lands the site is not proximate to any Natura 2000 sites”.
“The use of the land to provide a playing pitch has already been declared exempted development… in this regard, we would reiterate that a declaration has already been made in relation to the layout out of the playing pitch and it is not open to SDCC or ACP to reassess this under this declaration,” the appeal read.
The case is due to be decided by An Coimisiún Pleanála by June 2026.
