An Bord Pleanála has refused Eccleston International permission to build a 106-bed hotel in the Secondary Special Amenity Area (SSAA) of Reenroe, Ballinskelligs, Co Kerry, as it is not satisfied that the development would not be a predominantly residential complex.

The appeals board overturned Kerry County Council's decision to grant permission for the hotel suite accommodation, a spa, pool, leisure and fitness centre, conference rooms and tennis courts on the 32-acre site.

The proposal was also to demolish a 1970s-built derelict hotel on the site which is currently occupied by cattle.

A couple who appealed the development to An Bord Pleanála, Eugene and Anne McMahon, live at the eastern end of the site. They believe there is uncertainty surrounding the viability of the hotel and it could end up being an "even more ghastly eyesore on the coastline". They suspect the hotel might eventually be converted into multiple apartment units with communal facilities.

Eccleston International argued that the proposed hotel would remedy the existing "eyesore" on the site by demolishing the ruin, and said the planning application was for a hotel "and any future submission to convert it into anything other than a hotel would be subject to a separate process".

An Board Pleanála refused permission on the grounds that the area is an SSAA on an open and exposed part of a relatively unspoilt coastline. It says the development would constitute a highly visible and intrusive feature on a sensitive landscape.

The board said that, given the nature of the proposed development, mostly suite accommodation, and its location on a relatively unspoilt part of the coastline, it is not satisfied "it would not be a predominantly residential complex rather than a hotel-based tourist facility".