By Niamh Ellis
The High Court has dismissed appeals by developers behind works at Chianti Park on Mount Seskin Road, Brittas, and upheld planning enforcement against the replacement of older mobile-home and chalet structures with modular dwellings.
The site lies in an area zoned High Amenity – Dublin Mountains under the South Dublin County Development Plan. Works began in August 2025 and included site clearance, demolition and removal of existing structures, new foundations and services, and construction of modular homes.
South Dublin County Council issued warning correspondence and later brought proceedings under section 160 of the Planning and Development Act 2000. Nearby resident John O'Neill, who lives about 200 metres away, brought separate enforcement proceedings. The Circuit Court granted injunctions in December 2025 requiring the unauthorised development to stop and the site to be restored.
Threshford Limited, Mullnassa Limited and Branach Developments Limited appealed. Their central argument was that the works were exempt because they amounted to maintenance, improvement or alteration of existing structures.
Mr Justice Humphreys rejected that case. He held that removing the earlier structures and replacing them with materially different modular houses amounted to new development. The statutory exemption for maintenance or alteration did not extend to total or near-total replacement. The court also rejected reliance on pre-1964 use and the seven-year enforcement rule.
The judge found that the developers had continued and intensified works despite council warnings and during the enforcement process. He held that the integrity of the planning system, the site's high-amenity zoning, traffic, drainage, environmental concerns and impacts on nearby residents strongly favoured enforcement.
An immediate order restrains further works, occupation and re-erection of removed caravans or mobile homes without court approval. The developers were also directed to produce a remediation and landscaping plan. The court indicated that structures erected since August 2025, including foundations, should be removed and the lands restored, with South Dublin County Council empowered to take possession and carry out remediation if necessary.