Planning refused for extension of Healy-Rae guesthouse that houses Ukrainian refugees

Council planners said the scale of the proposed development was “excessive” with inadequate setback from neighbouring properties, despite some modifications to the original proposal submitted by the firm.

They ruled the plans also constituted overdevelopment of the site due to the lack of usable open space for any occupants.

“The proposed development by reason of its size and scale and proximity to adjoining properties would be seriously injurious to the amenities and depreciate the value of property in the vicinity due to overshadowing and over-looking,” the council stated.

It also claimed approval of the planning application by Mr Healy-Rae’s company would have set an undesirable precedent for similar type developments to the rear of dwellings in the area. The proposed development had generated objections from several groups of local residents.

Plans lodged with the council show the extension to the rear of the building was designed to contain 15 additional en-suite guest bedrooms, an extended kitchen area and new dining and lounge areas as well as a laundry room and caretaker’s office.

However, Roughty Properties said it had significantly reduced the size of the proposed extension by 36% in floor area by omitting the original proposals for an attic floor which reduced the number of additional bedrooms from 15 to eight following a request for further information from the council.

Council planners had expressed serious reservations about the scale of the proposed development as well as concerns about adequate parking provision. The property was operated as a guesthouse for 20 years until it was bought by Mr Healy-Rae in 2020.

Mr Healy-Rae is listed as a director of Roughty Properties in the Oireachtas’ Register of Members’ Interests, while the Rosemont guesthouse is one of 24 properties in Co. Kerry which the TD owns.

The register also noted that he had a contract with the Department of Children, Equality and Disability for providing accommodation to Ukrainians. Official records show the contract was estimated to be worth more than €166,000 last year.

In a report, council planners said Kerry was fortunate to have a varied accommodation offering for its many visitors with almost 24,000 guest bedrooms in the county.

However, they said the provision of tourist accommodation in a given location should be on a scale “that a settlement can sustain on a year-round basis and should not interfere with the economic or social viability of that settlement.” 

Objections

In an objection against the proposed extension, a group of local residents from Oakpark pointed out that the original proposed development would treble the size of the existing guesthouse which would amount to “serious cramming.” They estimated that the additional 15 bedrooms would have provided accommodation for 60 people bringing the total capacity of the guesthouse to 90 people.

Objectors said the revised plans submitted by Roughty Properties still did not address their serious reservations about the development. They claimed the plans represented “inappropriate intensification” of the site that was not in keeping with the Kerry County Development Plan as well as the local area plan for Tralee.

The residents said it was “very likely to result in noise, disturbance and nuisance to the detriment of established and particularly elderly residents in neighbouring properties.” 

The group also said they had concerns over inadequate levels of parking at the guesthouse as well as the future for a mature oak tree on a neighbouring property which had been cut back on the Rosemont boundary.

Another group of residents from another part of Oakpark said what was being proposed was “a large commercial development in a rear garden with very narrow access.” They claimed the extension would result in a loss of privacy for several neighbours.

“This seems to us to be development for development’s sake in a totally unsuitable area by developers who have little consideration for residents in the neighbourhood,” they added.

Another couple who objected to the development branded it “an unwarranted intrusion to a settled neighbourhood.” One objector claimed the facilities proposed in the new extension “do not meet even the minimum requirements for the basic one-star guesthouse recommendation as set out by Fáilte Ireland.” 

Mr Healy-Rae will have a period of four weeks to lodge an appeal against the council’s ruling with An Bord Pleanála.

He declined to comment when asked about his reaction to the council's decision and whether he would appeal the ruling to An Bord Pleanála.