Planning permission has been granted by Waterford City Council for the €380m Water Haven mixed use urban quarter on the 13-acre site of a former iron foundry beside the River Suir at Bilberry in the city.

Creating 400 jobs during construction and a similar number on completion, the ambitious scheme – proposed by local developer William Bolster – will feature an iconic 33-storey tower with 23 floors of apartments and 10 floors of offices. The building will also house a bar and restaurant offering unprecedented views of Waterford city, east Co Waterford and south Co Kilkenny.

Identified as an opportunity site in the Waterford City Development Plan 2007-2013, the brown-field former Waterford Stanley lands will also accommodate a 15-storey, 150-bedroom hotel along with underground parking, restaurants, smaller office units and duplex apartments. In addition, the hotel will have a large conference centre capable of accommodating 750 delegates – helping make Waterford a more attractive venue for off-season business tourism.

A state-of-the art leisure and fitness centre will include a gymnasium, spa and swimming pool while the scheme also includes provision for a marina with 60 berths. An extension of the Waterford & Suir Valley Railway to allow the train run to the site of the former Waterford South railway station at Bilberry is also being facilitated by the design team which is led by Waterford-based CJ Falconer & Associates Chartered Architects.

The residential component of the entire development has been specifically designed to ensure a wide mix of occupancy with the 420 apartments suited to families as well as couples, sharers and sole occupants. There will also be secure play areas for children in the development which applies sustainable development principles throughout and which has a target completion date of 2013.

William Bolster of the Bolster Group said he was delighted to have received planning permission from the City Council and hoped to proceed to the first construction phase of the development as early as possible in 2009.

I would also like to Thank the City Manager , Planning Department and all the various departments of the City Council along with all the local Councillors who gave great support throughout the process , it is an example of how working together, can create very exciting projects for the future of Waterford City and County.

In the current economic climate it is a massive boost to Waterford and I would appeal to peoples better judgement not to appeal the decision to the Board, which will allow us start real negotiations with Hotel operators and companies wishing to relocate to Waterford which in turn will create long term jobs for the people of Waterford.

"With work continuing at a great rate on the Waterford City Bypass including the 2nd river crossing just upriver from our site, there will be a whole new experience for those approaching Waterford by rail and road within the next couple of years. What we plan for Bilberry can be a key element in Waterford presenting a more confident face to people arriving in our city.

"The taller buildings are a bold statement about Waterford’s ambitions as gateway to the southeast while it is also a plus of our scheme that it will bring a disused former industrial site in to appropriate 21st Century life. This will help enhance Waterford’s appeal as a genuine riverside city and meets the sustainability objectives of strengthening the city’s core and making the best use of available lands.

"We are also very pleased with the mix of residential, office, leisure and hotel accommodation that our plans provide for as they take advantage of the great riverside location and the site’s proximity to the city centre which is within comfortable walking distance. There are also opportunities to develop art galleries and appropriate retail, educational and ecclesiastical facilities in this urban quarter while we are very excited at the prospect of having access to/from Kilmeaden by light rail as this also allows our scheme relate to Waterford Institute of Technology’s West Campus which is just along the river at Carriganore and to the gardens at Mount Congreve."