Property developer Fergal Gaughran has agreed to reconstruct a €3 million dormer bungalow that he bought in the Mount Merrion area of south Dublin and which was almost completely demolished without planning permission.
Mr Gaughran and his wife, Jane, of Holywell, Kilmacud Road Upper, Dublin, have consented in the Circuit Civil Court to "fully reconstruct the house at No 1, The Rise, Mount Merrion, Dublin, to its condition prior to the commencement of unauthorised demolition works".
Carol O'Farrell, counsel for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, told Judge Jacqueline Linnane that the Gaughrans had consented to the order to reconstruct the house insofar as is practicable.
Mr Gaughran, managing director of the UK-based Gaughran Homes Ltd, bought the house at an auction in 2005 for a reported €3 million. Last March he was granted permission by An Bord Pleanála to remove a 16sq m extension to the house's living-room at the rear of the property and enlarge the home at the front, side and rear.
In April, the council rejected a separate application to demolish the two-storey dormer dwelling and build a new five-bedroom one in its place.
In their decision they said the old structure was "in harmony" with its surroundings and added that "its demolition and replacement would neither protect nor improve the residential amenities of the area".
Ms O'Farrell told the court that when council officials inspected the house on June 22nd they found it had been substantially demolished, leaving only one small corner section.
She told the judge that the Gaughrans had agreed to fully reconstruct the house to its condition prior to the demolition works save as to the extent of the modifications and alterations for which planning permission was granted.