A court has ordered the removal of windows from an attic conversion as they were deemed “out of character” with the area.
Dublin City Council (DCC) prosecuted Carolyn Brennan of Phibsborough Road, Dublin 7 and the case led to a protracted legal row with 17 court listings and accusations of breaching planning laws.
The four-year dispute began after she changed the roof of the family of eight’s home in 2020 and battled to be granted retention.
The council conducted an inspection and contacted her, telling her she must reinstate the pre-existing roof, Dublin District Court heard.
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DCC enforcement officer Eoin Kelly told Judge Anthony Halpin that he received a complaint about the unauthorised development.
He visited the property in November 2020 and saw the ongoing works and what appeared to be an extension to the house’s second floor. A warning letter was sent.
A second inspection on January 27th, 2021, confirmed the work was completed and the windows were installed in the roof.
The inspector agreed with the prosecuting solicitor that the roof of the house should not have had front-facing windows, which had been installed without planning permission.
The court heard she failed to comply with the demands to put it back the way it was after the council and An Bord Pleanála denied their applications for retention.
The prosecution said that the new roof design was out of character with the terrace and injurious to the visual amenity of the area.
The defendant’s husband, Derek Brennan, said they had sought help from an architect.
He said they felt they were being targeted, and the council rejected their efforts to make the property match other houses.
He said other residents in the area, including one house 500 metres away, had built on top of the dwelling and were allowed planning permission, and he and his wife were trying their best to make it right.
Mr Brennan accepted the work had been done without planning permission and that they had not complied with the council.
Ms Brennan told the contested hearing that three kids used the attic room, and she questioned why other houses were allowed similar roofs.
Judge Halpin noted the findings that the existing design was visually incongruous with the other houses on the terrace.
He ordered her to comply with the enforcement notice by July 8th and to pay €4,173 in the council’s legal costs but spared her a fine, which could have been as much as €5,000.
However, he added that if An Bord Pleanála decides in their favour, that would trump the enforcement notice before the court.
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