Do you fancy tying the knot at Howth Castle?

IF you are planning your wedding day in the near future and looking for a venue full of romance and splendour, then you are in luck, as Howth Castle has been given the green light for a major €10m redevelopment as a wedding and tourist destination.

The proposals include a petting farm (watch your dress!), picnic areas, a 150-seat marquee for wedding events, greenhouse, plant nursery and pedestrianisation of the grounds.

The developers also plan to transform the location into a retail, food and tourist destination to include a ginmaking school, cookery school and retail stores.

The plans also involve changing the use of the ground floor of the main castle building to tea rooms and a wedding reception area and conversion of rooms at basement level to kitchens and storage areas.

The stables will be refurbished and converted for hospitality use with a covered pavilion for a restaurant with a new kitchen, as well as a café and new . A new public entrance will be created through the existing clock tower.

On the immediate castle grounds, some farm buildings will be demolished and a new entrance will be created at the 19th century gates to the castle grounds. Developers also plan to create a new access road to a proposed car and coach parking area.

However, Howth Castle is a protected structure within an archeological conservation area and Fingal County Council granted permission with 35 conditions attached. The council said no more than 151 car parking spaces will be allowed, and the overflow car park should be omitted. It also requested additional electric vehicle charging points and bicycle parking. A Retail Impact Assessment should also be submitted to consider the impact the proposed development would have on existing retail businesses operating on the Howth Peninsula such as Sutton, Howth Village and the Howth Harbour Area.