Council get go-ahead to CPO derelict Kells town centre property

An Coimisiún Pleanála has approved Meath County Council's bid to compulsorily acquire a derelict town centre property at Kenlis Place in Kells under the Derelict Sites Act.

The two storey building is made up of two units with a house to one side and a shop unit to the other, separated by an archway which provides access to the rear outdoor area and the stated area of the overall site is just under a hectare.

The property, which has fallen into disrepair over the past decade or more, was first brought to the attention of the council by the Kells Local Heroes community group in early 2023. It is located beside the St Vincent De Paul Theatre, which Meath County Council recently acquired and the rear boundary adjoins an undeveloped backlands site.

The owners of the site- Ros Liath Limited- objected to the proposed compulsory acquisition and therefore it was referred to An Coimisiún Pleanála for determination with the commission subsequently approving the acquisition earlier this month.

The planning inspector notes in her report the background to the case and the efforts Meath County Council had made to ascertain ownership of the site as it was unregistered.

Ultimately through a planning search, ownership was tracked to Ros Liath who obtained planning in 2017 which expired in 2022. Ros Liath later confirmed it had been in ownership of the site since 2006.

After the site was brought to the attention of the Council, an initial derelict inspection was carried out in February which observed the site to be in very poor, ruinous, neglected condition.

In December 2025, the Council served notice of its intention to add the site to the Derelict Sites Register and it was added to the register in January of this year. A month later, the council issued a notice of intention to acquire the site compulsorily.

In March, a letter was received from a solicitor acting on behalf of Ros Liath Ltd confirming ownership of the property. It stated that the two notices in relation issued the derelict sites section had not been received. It outlined that their preference was to work with the Council to have the site taken off the Derelict Sites Register, to clean up the site, apply for planning permission and sell it. They objected to the site being put on the Derelict Sites Register and also objected to the proposed compulsory acquisition.

Ros Liath argued that the statutory threshold for a derelict site had not been met and that the property did “not detract to a material degree from the amenity, character or appearance of the area”. It was also argued that the council had not allowed reasonable opportunity for the owner to undertake works which might address the council's concerns without resorting to acquisition and felt compulsory acquisition was “unnecessary and disproportionate at this stage”.

The planning inspector visited the site on 8th September last and noted that the building was vacant, in a state of disrepair and not habitable. “I observed tiles loose on roof, broken glass in windows, curtains hanging across exterior wall, boarded up window, harris fencing blocking access to the arch, rotten timber in the windows and doorways, flaking paint, sagging roof and generally weathered and grimy exterior. The interior is in ruinous condition with sections of the first floor collapsed and hole in roof and debris on the ground.”

The inspector noted that from a review of streetview images dating 2009, 2011, 2019 and 2021 and observations on site, “it is clear that there has been a marked continuous decline in the upkeep and maintenance of the property over the year since 2009.”

The inspector was satisfied that the local authority made reasonable enquiries to find the owner, and that the actions of the council had been justified reasonable and fair and in accordance with the statutory requirements of the Derelict Sites Act. She recommended that consent be granted to acquire the site and the commission agreed with this.

In its order, an Coimisiun Pleanala stated that having regard to the “ruinous, derelict and dangerous condition of the structure and the derelict, neglected, unsightly and objectionable state of the land”, and having considered the objection made to the compulsory acquisition, and also the constitutional and Convention protection afforded to property rights, the public interest, and the provisions of the Meath County Development Plan 2021-2027, it is considered that the “site detracts to a material degree from the amenity, character and appearance of land in the neighbourhood and, therefore, comes within the definition of a derelict site and that the compulsory acquisition of the site by the local authority is necessary in order to render the site non -derelict and to prevent it from continuing to be a derelict site.”