The planning watchdog has refused permission for the development of a Lidl supermarket in a Cork suburb for the second time, following local objections.

Cork County Council has twice given the green light to the proposed supermarket on a two-acre site between Carrigaline Rd and Churchyard Lane in the heart of Douglas village, only for An Bord Pleanála to twice overturn the decision on appeal.

In 2017, the board rejected the local authority’s first decision to grant planning permission after locals lodged objections over traffic, parking, and the visual impact the proposed supermarket would have on the village. The site is located in a designated Architectural Conservation Area.

Lidl lodged a second application last year and the council approved a development which would have comprised a 2,251 sq/m supermarket and a separate 1,351 sq/m three-storey mixed-use building with a cafe/restaurant, offices, and five apartments.

But An Bord Pleanala overturned the decision.

It determined the development “by reason of its design, scale and massing, would be visually dominant and out of character with the pattern of existing development in the Church Street Architectural Conservation Area and would be visually obtrusive within the Douglas Village streetscape”.

The board also ruled the development would prejudice the development potential of adjoining lands to the north.

Peter Horgan, a local election Labour candidate in the South East city council ward, had lodged an objection with the county council.

The area in question will come under City Hall following the boundary expansion.

“It’s a great result for those who have fought this imposition in Douglas Village and an eye opener for the local authority who have twice sought to implant this development against the wishes of the people,” he said.