Famous Irish broadcaster gets green light for Waterford holiday home

A famous Irish broadcaster has been given the green light to revamp her Waterford holiday home.

Mairéad Ronan, formerly of Today FM, has been looking to redevelop her existing property in Dunmore East for several years.

She, along with her husband Louis Ronan, have undergone a long planning process in seeking permission for the development.

In doing so, they sought the help of Dermot Bannon Architects, which is headed by the celebrity architect and Room To Improve star Dermot Bannon.

The redevelopment of the property will include the partial demolition of the existing building, along with a proposed two-storey extension.

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This extension will be to the side and rear of the existing end-of-terrace dwelling. There are also plans for more vehicular access and associated site works.

The Ronans had originally planned to build a bigger extension, but they were forced to reduce their plans for the house due to local objections.

The couple first filed plans to redevelop the home in August 2021 and Waterford City and County Council granted permission for the development the following year.

However, this decision was subsequently appealed to An Coimisiún Pleanála, who overruled the council’s verdict.

Revised plans were lodged in December 2024, with further information being sought in February 2025.

Peter McEleney of Dermot Bannon Architects said that the design of the proposed extension has been “significantly altered” from the previous design, with a reduction in the scale, bulk and massing.

Mr McEleney added that the gross floor area had been reduced from 211.48m² on the previous design to 200.43 m².

However, these changes did little to alleviate the concerns of local residents.

In fact, the six neighbours who originally objected to the development, all submitted objections to the new proposals.

One resident pointed out that the proposed extension had only reduced in size by approximately 5 per cent.

They added that the development would “do much to harm the special character given its scale and the resulting domination of the vistas”.

Others argued that the extension is “far too oversized in comparison to the original dwelling and terrace”.

Despite these objections, Waterford City and County Council granted permission for the development on December 15.

The local residents may yet decide to again appeal the decision to An Coimisiún Pleanála.