Two Kilkenny apartment blocks get green light despite local opposition

Two apartment blocks have been given the green light to proceed in Kilkenny City, despite an appeal to An Comisiún Pleanála and a recommendation from an inspector that permission not be granted.

The applicant, Gemstack Limited, originally sought permission for a four storey and five storey apartment block in June 2024 (to be built at Deansground, Waterford Road).

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Upon reviewing the plans, Kilkenny County Council requested (amongst other items) that the applicant reduce to the scale of the blocks to a height ‘no more than’ three storeys.

The planning application received a number of submissions from both local citizens and organisations (including Kilkenny Social Services, SOS Kilkenny Housing and the Deans Court Residents Association).

After reviewing the revised plans and the submissions, the planning authority decided to grant planning permission for the development, subject to 23 conditions.

This decision to grant planning permission was subsequently appealed to An Coimisiún Pleanála.

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As part of the appeal process, as is standard in these cases, the board appointed an inspector to visit the site, consider the issues and make a recommendation.

The inspector considered the main issues of the appeal to be zoning; bat surveys; design, scale, mass and height; impact on residential amenities; access and traffic/ car parking as well as other matters including landownership, noise, devaluation of property and fire safety.

The inspector, upon considering these issues, recommended that permission be refused for two reasons.

One reason was that the applicant, in his view, failed to demonstrate that the proposed development would not lead to disturbance or destruction of roosting sites for bats.

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The second reason was his view that the proposed development, comprising a total of 34 apartments in two blocks of three storeys in height would ‘represent overdevelopment of this sensitive site’.

The submissions on this file and the inspector’s report were then considered at a meeting held on September 5, 2025 and the national planning body decided to grant permission, subject to revised conditions.

They deemed that the development (subject to conditions) is in accordance with the provisions in the Kilkenny City and County Development Plan 2021-2027.

This decision, they noted, regarded “the totality of material regarding bats.”

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