Breda Campion was granted planning permission by Tipperary County Council to build a single-storey detached home in Rossestown, just outside Thurles.
Tipperary County Council granted permission to Ms Campion, subject to 14 conditions, including that the house be Ms Campion’s place of permanent residence for at least seven years, that all cables for electricity, TV and internet be routed underground, and that hedgerows around the land be maintained at all times.
However, renewable energy company Orsted Onshore appealed the grant of permission to An Coimisiún Pleanála, questioning Ms Campion’s eligibility to build a home in a rural area.
In a letter to the planning appeals board, an agent on behalf of Orsted said that as the applicant had previously owned a home, she should not be considered eligible under the council’s ‘local need’ rules.
Orsted Onshore successfully appealed Tipperary County Council’s decision to grant permission for the site in Rossestown, Thurles.
News in 90 Seconds – May 11th 2026
Local need rules set out a strict set of criteria that a person must fulfil in order to get planning permission to build a home in a rural area. Applicants must demonstrate a significant connection to the area over at least 10 years and must not already own a property.
The agent for Orsted said that “the planners report for this application acknowledges that the applicant has previously owned a home. This is contrary to the clear intent of the development plan which restricts rural housing in these areas to applicants who are building their first home”.
“The proposal does not comply with the rural housing policy objectives,” the agent added.
The agent for Orsted also raised concerns about traffic on the Rossestown Road, and the access point for the new house.
Ms Campion stated that she had grown up in the Rossestown area, and while she did previously own a house outside county Tipperary, she no longer owned one.
She said her elderly parents still live in Rossestown and require round-the-clock care, making it necessary for her to live nearby.
However, an inspector with An Coimisiún Pleanála agreed with the renewable company, and has overturned Ms Campion’s grant of planning permission.
In their report, they said that “by virtue of previously owning a dwelling in a rural area,” Ms Campion doesn’t comply with the local need aspect of the Tipperary county development plan.
“I consider that the social need provision does not apply in this instance and the applicant cannot comply with… the Tipperary County Development Plan and has not established a sufficient housing need,” the inspector noted.
“The criteria of this policy requires that the applicant does not or has never owned a house in the open countryside, the wording of this requirement is not specific to the local rural area,” they added.
The inspector also said that restricted visibility from the proposed entrance to the house would “endanger public safety by reason of a traffic hazard or obstruction.”
The planning appeals board were also not satisfied that the new home could accommodate a wastewater treatment system in line with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards.
Orsted Onshore operate several wind farms across Ireland, including the Lisheen Mine wind farm near Thurles, as well as the Garracummer wind farm near Cashel.
The company are also planning a new wind farm in the Brittas area of Thurles, which would span the townlands of Brittas, Rossestown and Clonbanna.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme