Michael Healy-Rae refused planning permission to extend Tralee guest house

Independent Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae has suffered a setback to his plans to build a large extension to a guest house he owns in Tralee which is used to house Ukrainian refugees.

Kerry County Council has refused planning permission to Mr Healy-Rae’s company, Roughty Properties, for a three-storey extension to Rosemont Guesthouse on Oakpark Road, Tralee.

Council planners said the scale of the proposed development was “excessive” with inadequate setback from neighbouring properties, despite some modifications to the original proposal submitted by the firm.

They ruled the plans also constituted overdevelopment of the site due to the lack of usable open space for any occupants.

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“The proposed development by reason of its size and scale and proximity to adjoining properties would be seriously injurious to the amenities and depreciate the value of property in the vicinity due to overshadowing and over-looking,” the council stated.

It also claimed approval of the planning application by Mr Healy-Rae’s company would have set an undesirable precedent for similar developments.

The proposed development had generated objections from several groups of local residents.

Plans lodged with the council show the extension to the rear of the building was designed to contain 15 additional en suite guest bedrooms, an extended kitchen area and new dining and lounge areas as well as a laundry room and caretaker’s office.

However, Roughty Properties said it had significantly reduced the size of the proposed extension by 36 per cent in floor area by omitting the original proposals for an attic floor which reduced the number of additional bedrooms from 15 to eight following a request for further information from the council.

Council planners had expressed serious reservations about the scale of the proposed development as well as concerns about adequate parking provision.

In an objection against the proposed extension, a group of local residents from Oakpark pointed out that the original development would treble the size of the existing guest house which would amount to “serious cramming”.

They estimated that the additional 15 bedrooms would have provided accommodation for 60 people bringing to the total capacity of the guest house to 90 people.

The property was operated as a guest house for 20 years until it was bought by Mr Healy-Rae in 2020.

Mr Healy-Rae is listed as a director of Roughty Properties in the Oireachtas’ Register of Members’ Interests, while the Rosemont guest house is one of 24 properties in Co Kerry which the TD owns.

The register also noted that he had a contract with the Department of Children, Equality and Disability for providing accommodation to Ukrainians.

Official records show the contract was estimated to be worth more than €166,000 last year.