Demolition of partially completed estate at Rock of Cashel to begin soon

The demolition of 52 partially completed homes overlooking the Rock of Cashel in Co Tipperary will commence “shortly” after a bat survey takes place over the coming weeks, the local authority has said.The assessment will be conducted by an ecologist to check for the presence, species and activity of bats. “The bat survey will take place within the next three weeks with demolition commencing shortly after the survey is completed,” Tipperary County Council said. The council confirmed its decision last May to demolish the properties at Ballypadeen, which were meant to be holiday homes linked to a hotel that never materialised. They have been derelict for close to 20 years.READ MOREPlanning permission for the “holiday suites” on an elevated six-hectare site and a 120-bedroom, four-storey over-basement hotel and leisure centre, complete with bus and car parking and a helipad, was granted to Co Laois developer Liam Campion in November 2004 by what was then South Tipperary County Council. Construction began in 2006 but halted the following year after the council claimed the houses were not being built in compliance with planning permission.Campion denied breaching planning rules and, in December 2008, the claims against him were dismissed by Cashel District Court.Complex planning and legal engagement between the parties followed, including Campion pursuing the council for damages.A mediated settlement was agreed in July 2025. [ ‘We’re not trying to slow things down’: Court-ordered demolition of homes behind scheduleOpens in new window ]As part of the agreed remediation, the council began progressing a “Part 8″ planning application – a planning application made by a local authority – to remove the houses. Once that is complete, the future of the site’s development will rest with Campion.Speaking this week, Campion said he had “no idea” what he would do with the site once demolition was completed and it would be determined by “the way it’s left”. “I think their proposal is to leave it fairly rough so my options will be fairly limited,” he said. Independent TD Mattie McGrath, who has raised the issue a number of times in the Dáil, said the council’s decision “beggars belief in a housing crisis”. “So many thousands of people are homeless and so many are looking for starter homes and trying to buy houses ... It is madness as far as I’m concerned,” he said. Tipperary County Council has said it must make decisions based on planning law, policy, and the long-term sustainable development of the area. [ Help to buy threshold for first-time buyers unlikely to be raised in budgetOpens in new window ]The site is located on unzoned and unserviced land outside the Cashel settlement boundary, according to the local authority, and residential development would conflict with national, regional and local planning policy.Independent technical assessments found “significant defects”, including water damage and noncompliance with building regulations, it said, and any reuse would require “substantial reconstruction”.The estimated cost of adapting the development for residential use is about €24 million, the council said, “making reuse financially unviable”.