An Coimisiún Pleanála has refused permission for plans by MMA fighter Conor McGregor to construct a sprawling “historic stately home”-style house in Co Kildare.
Mr McGregor wanted to build a six-bedroom family home with a cinema, bar and two swimming pools.
In the application, Mr McGregor had outlined plans to demolish his existing five-bedroom home at The Paddocks, Castledillon, Straffan, and replace it with a 32,693 sq ft property.
It would be 27 times the size of an average three-bedroom semidetached home of 1,200 sq ft.
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An Coimisiún Pleanála inspector Robert Speer, who had recommended planning permission be granted, said in his report 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”.
Mr McGregor’s plan also included a sunken basement to include car-parking, a bar and a games area.
But in its refusal decision, the planning commission said 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 said 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 reuse, adaptation or extension of rural structures.
An Coimisiún Pleanála’s decision upholds a refusal issued by Kildare County Council in January. The case was before An Coimisiún Pleanála on appeal from Mr McGregor.
In his 52-page report, Mr Speer said the planned home was 1km from the K Club golf resort, where there were multiple examples of houses of a substantial scale having been developed.
Mr Speer said the site itself was heavily screened from view with mature boundaries defining the full extent of the site perimeter.
“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 four hectares (9.8 acres) and I am satisfied that this can accommodate a development of the scale proposed,” he said.
Mr McGregor paid €3m for The Paddocks in 2019 and planning documentation showed 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 bought for €1.65m in June 2022.
Mr McGregor previously won planning permission to partly demolish and to 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 the works would not make sense.
