The High Court has refused Michael Rowan’s application to quash Kerry County Council’s decision that a public road near a proposed home in Doolahig, County Kerry, had been realigned to the authority’s satisfaction.
Mr Rowan argued that the works did not amount to a realignment and that the Council could not reasonably consider them adequate for road safety. The case concerned the Council’s letter of 7 September 2011, which confirmed compliance with a condition attached to planning permission granted to Tim Mulvihill for a single-storey dwelling.
The permission required that development not begin until the public road south of the site had been realigned to the planning authority’s satisfaction. The High Court had already granted Mr Rowan leave to seek judicial review. A separate ruling by another judge addressed his request for a stay; the judgment delivered by Mr Justice Birmingham dealt only with the requests to quash the Council’s decision and declare it unlawful.
The Council had carried out works in August 2011 on land transferred for road improvements. These included removing vegetation and earth, laying crushed stone and erecting about 70 metres of fencing. The judge found that the statutory meaning of “road” extended beyond the carriageway used by vehicles. Looking at the road as a whole, he concluded that the works had reconfigured it by lowering its level and moving its boundaries. The condition therefore had been met.
The court also rejected the claim that the Council’s satisfaction with the works was unreasonable or irrational. A Council report had considered road-design guidance that indicated sight distances were below the recommended figures, but the guidance left local authorities to assess its application to local roads. The judge said the Council had considered the guidance and decided it could depart from it.
He noted that the junction already existed and served three premises, and that sight lines were restricted in both directions. Photographs showed a significant improvement after the works, although the judge accepted the arrangement remained far from perfect. He said the Council’s assessment of whether the improvement justified the additional traffic from the proposed dwelling was a matter within its planning expertise.
Mr Rowan’s challenge failed. The court refused the requested relief. The judgment did not determine whether the separate stay should be granted.