WHILE filmstar Saoirse Ronan’s plans to rebuild her house in Ballydehob have been turned down by Cork County Council planners, The Southern Star has learned that there were no local objectors to her plans.
Architects who submitted a planning application on behalf of the internationally-acclaimed Irish actress have been refused permission to do a complete rebuild on the house she bought in Ballydehob in 2020.
Local authority planners said: ‘A reasoned justification for the demolition of the existing modest and well-integrated dwelling has not been submitted.’
They are of the opinion that the existing 125 sq m dwelling, and ancillary accommodation, integrates well into the rural and coastal landscape.
Clancy Moore Architects had applied to rebuild at a higher level – for improved sightlines on the site at Foilnamuck, which overlooks Roaringwater Bay – but the Council planners held that the application would not fit appropriately into the rural, coastal, and high-value landscape in terms of its siting, scale, and design.
They said the proposed single-storey dwelling, measuring 332 sq m, would ‘seriously detract from the visual amenities of the area’ and would ‘conflict with the stated objectives of the county development plan’.
The four-time Oscar-nominated actress purchased the property after repeated visits to Ballydehob and Schull with her mother Monica, but Covid may have interrupted plans to remodel the building and reconfiguration the site.
Planners confirmed that there were no local submissions, or objections, to the planning application, which was made on behalf of the actress.
The Council actually gave its decision on October 18th last and the owner, and her architects, had four weeks in which to appeal the decision to An Bord Pleanála.
No appeal was lodged, and no statement was forthcoming from the firm of architects, so it may now be a case of going back to the drawing board.
