Housing plan for Bettystown estate green space rejected

An Coimisiún Pleanála has upheld Meath County Council's decision to refuse planning permission for the construction of three houses on a green area in a Bettystown estate.

Redbreast Investment Limited had sought permission in February 2026 to construct three dwellings on a central green area in the Foxbury estate on the Golf Links Road, along with associated roadworks and site alterations.

A similar proposal was refused just months earlier. The planning application has caused significant upset within the estate, where residents argued that the green was a vital amenity. Flooding was also a major concern.

Meath County Council refused planning permission for the development in April and this decision was appealed to Pleanala by Redbreast Investment Limited. On 26th August, the An Coimisiun Pleanala upheld Meath County Council's decision to refuse permission and rejected the appeal.

In outlining its reasons, Pleanala considered that "the proposed development would seriously injure the residential amenity of existing residents by reason of loss of open space" noting that it would reduce the quantum of open space serving Foxbury to less than 15 per cent contrary to the objectives of the Meath County Development Plan. It also noted that much of the remaining open space provided would not be of a useable quality for amenity purposes.

A second reason given was in relation to flood risk. The order noted that the applicant had prepared a Site Specific Flood Risk Assessment including a Justification Test but that the Commission was not satisfied, on the basis of the information lodged with the planning application and the documents submitted with the appeal, that the proposed development "would not give rise to a heightened risk of flooding either on the proposed development site itself, or on other lands".