Tetrarch Capital has secured permission for the demolition and redevelopment of the Deer Park Hotel in Howth after its plan for the site was reconsidered by An Coimisiún Pleanála following a judicial review.
In 2022, Tetrarch’s subsidiary Wshi Unlimited Company applied for planning permission to knock down the existing hotel in the grounds of Howth Estate and build a new four-storey, 142-bedroom hotel with a bar, restaurant, gym and spa facility.
The application was granted permission by Fingal County Council but that was appealed to An Coimisiún Pleanála. It upheld the local authority’s decision, but that decision was then legally challenged by local Green Party councillor David Healy.
An Coimisiún Pleanála said it would not oppose the judicial review and the grant of permission was annulled by the High Court in 2024.
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The court remitted the case to An Coimisiún Pleanála to be re-adjudicated. Further information was sought both from Tetrarch and the appellant.
Now, the planning appeals board has again granted permission for the project, paving the way for the demolition of the existing Deer Park Hotel and construction of the new 10,833sq m scheme on site.
The commission said the demolition of the current building was justified as “retrofitting and reuse of the existing building would not be practical, having regard to the number of areas where asbestos is located within the existing building interior and its exterior”.
The building, it added, was “beyond serviceable life” and there were “defects impacting the load bearing capacity of the structural frame”.
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A spokesman for Tetrarch said it now planned to proceed with a five-star hotel on the site.
“We are extremely pleased with the outcome of what has been a very lengthy planning process. We will now proceed to reassess the costs of the approved scheme and will be taking other important initial steps to move the project forward,” he said.
“We would like to thank our design and planning team and everyone else involved in the effort to secure this important permission.”
In its ruling on the case, An Coimisiún Pleanála ordered Tetrarch to make some revisions to the submitted plans.
It said a proposed new access road across the eastern side of the site must be removed as it would fragment the open character of the lands. Instead, the developer must upgrade the existing access route.
Tetrarch has also been told to reduce the number of car-parking spaces on site from 170 to 165.
Tetrarch, controlled by Michael McElligott, acquired the 500-acre Howth Estate property in 2018 from the Gaisford-St Lawrence family, who had owned the lands for more than 840 years.
Last year, Tetrarch sold Citywest Hotel to the State in a deal worth a reported €148 million. The company still owns significant land banks in the Citywest area, including sites dubbed Sacra North and Sacra South, which have the capacity for more than 2,000 homes.
