A major construction project in docklands Dublin has been 'given the bird'.

The news that An Bord Pleanála has rejected the Dublin Port Company's application to infill a large area of land was revealed this week.

The project aimed to develop over 95 acres of the inner bay of Dublin but the Bord said part of the development would have taken place inside a special area of conservation under the EU Birds Directive and would involve the permanent loss of wetland habitat.

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RTÉ reported that the news had been welcomed by Chair of Dublin Bay Watch, Cllr Gerry Breen who said he hoped this would mark the end of what he termed the '40-year-old folly' of the Port Company attempting to fill in the bay - a bid that has cost the company €155,456 in wasted planning fees to date.

The Port Company's application, lodged in August 2008, had been considered by the Bord as a strategic infrastructure development.

An Bord Pleanála refused the development on four grounds, but declined to accept its own inspectors' recommendation to refuse permission on several other points, including the unacceptable risk of flooding of the Clontarf area.

(BMCC/GK)