Sean Keating Garden at Rathfarnham Castle
Plans to redesign Castle grounds appealed by tidy towns group
Plans by the council to redesign the grounds of Rathfarnham Castle have been referred to An Coimisiún Pleanála over whether they meet the criteria for an “exempted development”.
As part of South Dublin County Council’s plans to redevelop the old stables at Rathfarnham Castle into a café, planning permission was sought to create a new car park on the Sean Keating Garden, which included the “regrading and relevelling of the existing sunken pond and garden area to provide 54 car parking spaces”.
The plan was submitted as a Part 8 public consultation, and it was determined that the works at the castle constituted an exempted development under the Planning and Development Act, 2000.
However, Ballyboden Tidy Towns Committee have now appealed this decision to the planning commission, stating that given the location of the site within “the curtilage of Rathfarnham Castle, a national monument in State care and a protected structure”, the proposed works count as “development” and should not be exempted from planning permission.
“Ministerial consent under the National Monuments Acts is required for any works in or affecting the monument or its setting,” the referral said.
The committee also submitted that works in the area may need to be screened under the Water Framework Directive to “prevent deterioration” of the local hydrological system, given the site’s proximity to the Dodder River.
The referral also raised concerns over the original construction of the pond in 2012/13, and whether that development had been subject to any planning permission.
A decision is due from An Coimisiún Pleanala by January 2026.
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