Objections put brakes on Kilkenny hotel’s huge expansion plans

A Kilkenny hotel’s plans to almost tripling its number of guest rooms has been forced to put their plans on hold after objections to the development were made to the national planning authority.

Last month Kilkenny County Council gave the green light to plans by The Kilkenny Inn to add 75 new rooms to it existing building on Vicar Street.

Developers Auburn Ventures, who are seeking to increase its number of rooms from 30 to 105, initially made the application for the site beside the Abbey Quarter in September 2019.

However, the proposed development has been held up after An Bord Pleanála received four objections to the project from members of the public.

The objections are based on the height of the development and the impact a project of this scale will have on the area immediately around it.

The five-storey extension includes a new frontage onto St Canice’s Place. It also includes a new penthouse and a café with an outdoor covered terrace area, set back from the street at ground floor level.

The 75 new rooms will be built from the ground up to the third floor, with a separate lounge at the penthouse level.

The proposed extension will be connected to the existing hotel at first, second and third floor levels and will include an adjustment of existing car parking spaces.

A new landscaped central courtyard, a rooftop plant enclosure, as well as a set down area at front of the proposed building on St Canice’s Place, will also be constructed.

An Bord Pleanála is expected to announce its decision on the development at the end of April 2021.