An Coimisiún Pleanála has approved Meath County Council’s compulsory acquisition of a derelict, two-storey town centre property at Kenlis Place in Kells, overriding objections from its owners, according to the Meath Chronicle. The site, which comprises a house on one side and a shop unit on the other separated by an archway, spans just under a hectare and has fallen into severe disrepair over the past decade.
Stalled Plans and Community Pressure in Kells
The planning commission’s decision clears the way for the local authority to take ownership of the ruined property under the Derelict Sites Act. The site first came to the attention of Meath County Council in early 2023 when the Kells Local Heroes community group flagged its deteriorating condition. The property sits directly beside the St Vincent De Paul Theatre, which the council recently acquired, and its rear boundary adjoins an undeveloped backlands site.
Legal Pushback from Ros Liath Limited
Ros Liath Limited, which confirmed ownership of the property since 2006, strongly objected to the council’s actions. The company obtained planning permission for the site in 2017, which subsequently expired in 2022. After the council served notice in December 2025 to add the site to the Derelict Sites Register—a step formalized in January 2026—legal representatives for Ros Liath argued that the statutory threshold for dereliction had not been met.
The owners contended that the property did not detract to a material degree from the local amenity and argued that the council failed to provide a reasonable opportunity to undertake voluntary repairs. Furthermore, solicitors for Ros Liath stated that statutory notices had not been received and expressed a preference to clean up the site, secure new planning permission, and sell it in cooperation with the local authority.
A Decade of Decay Documented by Inspectors
A planning inspector who visited the site on September 8 noted that the building was entirely vacant, uninhabitable, and structurally compromised. The inspection report detailed loose roof tiles, broken glass, hanging curtains across exterior walls, boarded windows, harris fencing blocking access to the arch, and rotted timber frames. Inside, sections of the first floor had collapsed, leaving a large hole in the roof and debris scattered across the ground.
Streetview imagery reviewed by the planning inspector from 2009, 2011, 2019, and 2021 revealed a continuous decline in maintenance over more than a decade. The inspector concluded that the local authority made exhaustive and reasonable enquiries to trace the property’s unregistered ownership and acted fairly within statutory guidelines.
Weighing Property Rights Against Public Interest
An Coimisiún Pleanála ultimately ruled that the ruinous and dangerous condition of the structures detracts materially from the character of the neighbourhood. The commission determined that compulsory acquisition is strictly necessary to render the site non-derelict, balancing constitutional property rights against the broader public interest and the Meath County Development Plan 2021-2027.