MMA fighter Conor McGregor has had a planning application for a large extension on his Kildare home invalidated after he was found to have submitted “misleading and incorrect” drawings.
Kildare County Council told McGregor’s architect in a letter on May 13th that the fighter’s application to demolish an existing garage and porch and to build the extension at his home near Straffan has been “deemed invalid” as information had been omitted.
After an inspection of the property at The Paddocks on May 7th, the council deemed the existing layout plan for the plan submitted in the application to be inaccurate to what is on the site.
In a letter to McGregor, sent to his Kildare-based architect Tom O’Loughlin of O’Loughlin Architects, the council advised him the application was “invalid” as it did not comply with the requirements of the regulations and “cannot be considered by the planning authority”.
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The letter said McGregor was required to ensure that the documents supporting the application “reflect what is existing on the site”.
The council said the documents did “not accurately depict” the existing internal road network, the layout of the existing decking area including access points to the nearby river Liffey and associated water-based activities.
The existing site layout plan submitted to the council did not accurately show an “existing significantly sized marquee type structure” appearing to comprise a “sports-related facility” and its associated hard surfacing and outdoor shower/toilet.
The submitted plan also did not accurately show a security hut and a shipping container on the site, the council said.
The home that McGregor is partly demolishing stretches to 739sq m while the planned extension was proposed to cover 1,220sq m.
McGregor paid €3 million for The Paddocks home in 2019 and a further €1.65 million for a neighbouring property at Castledillon in 2022.
The May 13th letter from the council said of McGregor’s application: “It is considered the drawings submitted are misleading and incorrect, and information has been omitted.”
O’Loughlin had previously told the council that the planning application submitted in April was effectively the same application that was granted permission by the council in 2022.
The architect said part of the property had already been demolished under the original 2022 planning permission.
This included the removal of the tennis court from the grounds.
McGregor submitted the application for the extension after An Coimisiún Pleanála objected to his plans to build a large-scale “historic stately home” in Straffan.
The MMA fighter wanted to build a new “family home” that included a cinema, bar and two swimming pools on the site of the existing five-bedroom home at The Paddocks.
Plans show that the proposed home would have included a playroom, a bar, a diningroom, a family room and a butler’s pantry.
The plan includes a partially sunken basement under the relocated tennis court that accommodates a car park, gym and ancillary rooms.
