90-bedroom extension plan for Johnstown Estate hotel

Plans by the owner of the Johnstown Estate in Enfield for a major extension with 90 guest rooms at the four-star hotel are currently being considered by planners.

Lefgem Limited has lodged a planning application with Meath Co Council for the construction of a three-storey extension to the rear of the existing hotel to provide 90 guest bedrooms which would be joined to the existing hotel at ground floor level by a single-storey connection. This would be facilitated by creating an opening in the rear façade of the existing hotel at ground floor level and by the removal of one existing guest bedroom.

Other modifications to the existing floor plan of the Tenor suite at ground floor level to provide for a new restaurant, extend the existing kitchen, provide bathrooms and to separate the restaurant from the spa and gym.

There would be a single-storey extension to the proposed restaurant at ground floor and a new entrance to the existing leisure centre. Other changes include an extension to the basement level to provide a storeroom.

The external escape staircase from ground floor to basement level would be removed and new reception area to the gym is planned. A new replacement external staircase from ground floor level to basement level is proposed.

The Estate contains 128 bedrooms and suites set in woodland and gardens. The planning report with the application states that the hotel provides extensive services, employment, and revenue to the local community and Meath Co Council and adds that it has become one of Ireland’s premier leisure and hospitality destinations, having been ranked 4th in the Irish Independent Reader Travel Awards for Ireland’s best spas in 2022. Johnstown House is a protected structure in the Meath County Development Plan. Built in 1761, Johnstown House was the country residence of Colonel Francis Forde, a successful officer of the East India Company, and his family. It is described on the Protected Structures record as "an 18th century house of five bays, three storeys with parapet and cornice rendered with pedimented door case and four chimneystacks."

In outlining the reason for the development, the planning report states: "The key objective of the proposed development is to enhance the existing Johnstown Estate premises and its current service offering, providing for a reinvigorated the interactive customer experience for incoming patrons with the provision of an added public amenity in the form of an outdoor terrace area and restaurant extension and expansion of the hotel with additional bedrooms which is considered to be appropriate in the context of the site’s land use objective and accords with the objectives of the development plan in respect of sustainability and urban compaction." It also states that "fundamentally, the proposed development would provide an enhanced experience for future customers and would aid in the creation of additional local jobs".

A decision is due on the application on 4th February next.