Celebrity TV presenter has plans for Waterford home extension put on hold
Concept art of the proposed development
Plans to extend the Waterford home owned by former Ireland’s Fittest Family host Mairead Ronan and her husband Louis have been put on hold following a spate of objections made to An Comisiún Pleanála.
The plans for the extension were designed by celebrity architect Dermot Bannon’s firm.
‘Dermot Bannon Architects’ sought a partial demolition and a proposed two-storey extension to 1 Curraghmore Terrace in the seaside town of Dunmore East. The extension would triple the floor space of the current property.
Planning permission for the extension was granted by Waterford City and County Council in January, despite objections from the Council’s Executive Conservation Officer.
Four different appeals have now been lodged to An Comisiún Pleanála, with a decision ultimately due to be made by May 20.
Trevor and Valerie Walsh, who live on Curraghmore Terrace, wrote that the new development would be “visually intrusive” and “totally out of keeping with the architectural heritage of the Lower Village.”
Breda and John Battles of the Beach Guest House (located across from the proposed development) wrote: “The featured large glazed areas with platform rendering will be totally out of character with the streetscape, entire historic setting and in no way compliment the original terrace.”
Tom O’Regan, another resident of Curraghmore Terrace, argued that the significant floor space expansion was in breach of Waterford Council’s Development Plan.
Appelants pointed out that while the development is classified as an ‘extension’, it effectively functions as an entirely new house.
Planning application for the site was first lodged in August 2021 and derailed two years later following a string of successful appeals.
The new application reduces the floor space extension from the originally proposed 280 square metres to 211. The property as it stands, has just over 60 square metres.
The new property proposal features four bedrooms compared to the original six.
David Mulcahy Consultants Ltd have been brought onboard by the Ronan family in hopes of clearing the bar for planning permission.
The consultants said the previous application failed due to the scale of the project, which is located within an Architectural Conservation Area.
“The current application seeks to overcome this reason for refusal by proposing a new extension design involving a reduced scale, massing and bulk,” said the consultants.
“The present design also seeks to mirror the existing gable end and present a more coordinated and appropriate façade to the public realm.
“The design is notably less contemporary to the previous application from a visual perspective and therefore integrates better with its more traditional context.”
The consultants said it is “it is essential for the applicant to expand in order to facilitate a modern family home.”
Notably, the Council’s Executive Conservation Officer, Rosemary Ryall, recommended that the council reject the latest proposed development, arguing it hadn’t met the threshold from a conservation angle.
“It is still considered that the proposed extension could almost be considered a house in its own right that the main house subsidiary to the extension [sic],” wrote Ms Ryall.
