A CO WICKLOW beach site owned by property developer Paddy McKillen Jnr has been put up for sale after An Bord Pleanála blocked plans for a proposed €40m holiday resort.

The planned resort consisted of a two-storey building containing a gym, sauna, cinema and outdoor pool reception, bar and restaurant, and also the construction of a surf school building and 48 “high-quality accommodation pods”.

The 21-acre site overlooks the popular Magheramore Beach and was listed in 2021 with a guide price of €210,000.

McKillen’s Oakmount Group went on to purchase the site for €700,000, with Wicklow County Council among the unsuccessful bidders.

McKillen’s Creatively Pacific Limited then lodged plans for a €40m boutique holiday resort and surf school on the site in 2023.

Documents lodged with McKillen Jnr’s original Oakmount planning application in 2023 stated that once the project is operational, it would employ 160 people and that would follow the 200 construction workers employed during the 18-month long construction phase.

However, Wicklow County Council refused planning permission after a ‘wave’ of opposition against the plan, with over 90 parties lodging objections. 

Those calling for the scheme to be rejected included former RTÉ broadcaster Valerie Cox and retired missionary nun Sr Kathleen Melia of the nearby Missionary Sisters of St Columban at Magheramore.

The site was originally owned by this order of sisters before its original sale in the 1980s.

In its rejection, the Council ruled that the project “would set an undesirable precedent for similar type development in this sensitive landscape, would appear visually out of character with the coast and would interfere with the environmental quality and amenities” of the coastal area.

An appeal of Wicklow County Council’s decision was then lodged to An Bord Pleanála, which was refused.

The site has since been listed on the specialist online auction site BidX1, with a guide price of €550,000.

The listing describes the site as a “substantial parcel of beachfront lands” and notes that there are “panoramic views of Magheramore Beach”, which has featured the TV show Vikings, as well as adverts for Three and Skoda.

-With additional reporting from Gordon Deegan