Developer applies for retention of another unauthorised development

A view of the site of the unauthorised development: 'One cigarette thrown over the balcony when a tanker is unloading would be a disaster for the whole town'.

The developer of a property beside The Hideout which is the subject of a Kildare County Council Enforcement Order has applied for a change of use retention permission, writes Brian Byrne.

James Browne, whose development was the subject of considerable concern locally when he first completed it in early 2007, has converted an office development on the top floor of the building to a 1-bedroom apartment with a 20 sq m balcony area.

At the end of August he was served with an Enforcement Order by Kildare County Council to restore the unauthorised work to the original state. He was given 16 weeks to do so.

On 12 October the developer applied for retention of the work (ref 11/974) and the application is currently under consideration by the planning authority.

An objection by Mrs Josephine Byrne, owner of the adjoining filling station property, says the unauthorised development was advertised on a website for let 'with a barbecue area'. She says this is an issue of safety relating to the delivery of petrol on the property underneath.

"One cigarette thrown over the balcony when a tanker is unloading would be a disaster for the whole town," she notes.

Mrs Byrne is also objecting on the basis that Conditions laid down by on Bord Pleanala in a ruling on 21 July 2010 have never been put in place.

She notes that the developer also opened an unauthorised Fire Door onto the adjoining property, and Mrs Byrne says he is therefore 'trespassing'.

During the construction of the building the developer installed unauthorised windows overlooking the tanker filling area, and was forced by Kildare County Council to remove them.

In November 2007, Kildare County Council issued an Enforcement Notice against Mr Browne, citing 10 counts of non-compliance with the original planning permission. These included an excess height of approximately one metre, an unauthorised 'A' roof over a section of the building, unauthorised installation of six windows and a related relocation of a ventilations system, and an unauthorised screen wall on the second floor with four unauthorised access points.

It seems the Enforcement Order was never acted upon by KCC and in October 2009 the developer applied for retention of the unauthorised works. Following significant local disquiet, Kilcullen Community Action added its own objection, saying if retention permission was granted, it would create an ‘undesirable precedence’ whereby developers could totally ignore a local authority’s planning conditions.

In January 2010 the developer was granted retention permission by Kildare County Council, overturning an initial recommendation to refuse by Executive Planner Alan Cunniffe, who is recorded as changing his mind after the developer 'successfully argued' that the development as constructed had been amended in order to comply with a number of building control regulations and best practice in terms of Health & Safety.

In July 2010, a number of Revised Conditions were laid down by An Bord Pleanala in a granting of permission against an appeal by Kilcullen Community Action. These included the removal of unauthorised sliding doors opening onto the roof area above the petrol delivery area. This has not been done.



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