The Supreme Court has ruled that a planning application for 30 apartments in Ashbourne, Co Meath, should return to An Coimisiún Pleanála rather than Meath County Council after the Commission's earlier permission was quashed.
Millbourne Residents Association had argued that the case should go back to the council because the site's zoning changed from residential to open space after the original planning decisions. Mr Justice Woulfe, delivering judgment on November 27, dismissed that appeal and upheld the High Court's order remitting the matter to the Commission.
Rybo Partnership first sought permission in July 2019 for three apartment blocks containing 30 apartments. Meath County Council refused permission in June 2020 for one reason, without finding that the proposal materially contravened the then county development plan. The developer appealed, and An Bord Pleanála, now An Coimisiún Pleanála, granted permission in September 2020 subject to 13 conditions.
The residents' association challenged that decision. The Commission later conceded the judicial review on an appropriate-assessment ground, and the High Court quashed the permission.
By then, Meath's 2021-2027 development plan had been adopted and the site's zoning had changed. The residents argued that the council should reconsider the application first under the new plan.
The Supreme Court rejected that position. It held that when a Commission decision is quashed, the matter normally returns to the body that made that decision. Once the Commission had determined the original appeal, the council's earlier decision had been annulled and could not simply be revived.
The court also confirmed that the Commission must decide the remitted appeal under the development plan in force when it makes its new decision. The practical effect is that the Ashbourne proposal will be reconsidered by the Commission under the current Meath planning framework, not sent back to the start of the local authority process.