Conor McGregor refused planning permission for 'out-of-scale' six-bed house in Co Kildare

AN COIMISIÚN PLEANÁLA has objected to plans by Conor McGregor to construct a sprawling ‘historic stately home’-style house in Co Kildare.

This follows the State planning watchdog refusing planning permission to McGregor for the planned new ‘family home’ complete with a cinema, bar and two swimming pools.

In the application, McGregor was planning to demolish his existing five-bedroom home at The Paddocks, Castledillon, Straffan and replace it with a 32,693 sq ft six bedroomed ‘family home’.

This home would be 27 times the size of an average three-bed semi-detached home of 1,200 sq ft.

An Coimisiún Pleanála inspector in the case, Robert Speer – who recommended that planning permission be granted – commented in his report that the “imposing design” of the planned home “clearly intended to elicit an element of grandeur in an attempt to mimic that of historic stately homes/estate houses”.

McGregor’s plans also included a fully sunken basement to include car-parking, a bar and a games area.

The location of the home is 1km south east of Straffan, and 1km east of the K Club.

In its refusal decision, the planning commission concluded that the proposed development “would appear visually incongruous in this sensitive landscape area, would seriously injure the visual and rural amenities of the area, and would set a precedent for out-of-scale replacement dwellings in the rural area”.

In a decision signed off by Planning Commissioner, Mary Gurrie it also concluded that proposed demolition of a large detached rural dwelling, and its replacement with a substantially larger structure, would be contrary to Kildare County Council’s Rural House Design Guide which promotes the re-use, adaptation or extension of rural structures.

An Coimisiún Pleanála’s refusal upholds a refusal issued by Kildare County Council in January and the case was before An Coimisiún Pleanála on appeal from McGregor.

The planning commission has issued its refusal despite its own inspector in the case, Robert Speer recommending a grant of permission.

It is only one in every 10 cases where the planning commission dismisses a grant or refusal recommendation of its own inspector to issue a contrary ruling.

As part of a 52 page report, Speer found that the proposed development would be acceptable, would be justified in terms of demolition and replacement and acceptable in terms of siting, design and wastewater treatment, would not seriously injure the visual amenities of the area or the amenities of property in the vicinity, and would constitute an appropriate development in this rural location.

Speer observed that the planned home is 1km from the K Club golf resort, where there are multiple examples of houses of a substantial scale having been developed.

He said that the site itself is heavily screened from view with mature boundaries defining the full extent of the site perimeter.

Having conducted a site inspection, Speer said: “while I would concede that the proposed replacement dwelling is of an imposing design and is clearly intended to elicit an element of grandeur (in an attempt to mimic that of historic stately homes/estate houses), it is my opinion that the overall size and scale of the proposal is not in itself incompatible with the site location and context”.

He said that “the proposed development involves the amalgamation of the housing plots presently occupied by ‘The Paddocks’ and ‘No. 5 Castledillon’ into a singular larger site in excess of 4 hectares (9.8 acres) and I am satisfied that this can accommodate a development of the scale proposed”.

He said that “visual representations serve to demonstrate that the subject site is capable of accommodating the development as proposed without detriment to the wider area”.

As part of the commission’s order, Gurrie stated that in deciding not to grant permission as recommended by the Inspector, the Commission considered that the design of the proposed development did not have sufficient regard to the ‘special’ sensitivity landscape context of the site.

Gurrie also said that the Commission further considered that “the proposed development would be out of scale and character with adjacent residential properties in this rural area and that the applicant failed to adequately justify the complete demolition of a substantial detached residential property and its replacement with a significantly larger structure as opposed to the sensitive adaptation or extension of the existing dwelling in accordance with the policy of the planning authority”.

McGregor paid out €3m for The Paddocks in 2019 and planning documentation shows that McGregor’s staff were to be housed in a nearby home at No 5 Castledillon “which is now also in the full ownership of the applicant”.

Records with the Residential Property Price Register show that No 5 Castledillon was purchased for €1.65m in June 2022.

McGregor previously secured planning permission to partly demolish and extend and renovate The Paddocks.

However, Tyler Owens Architects told the council that having started the process of demolition back in 2022, it became apparent that the existing quality of construction of the remainder of the house, along with the client’s changing needs, indicated that the works would not make sense.