Council reaches settlement with developer in High Court dispute over Drogheda apartments

A High Court dispute over the issuance of building compliance documents for 24 completed social homes in Drogheda has been settled.

Coreet Limited, a special-purpose vehicle with links to developer Bernard McNamara, brought a case against Meath County Council over its refusal to register a certificate of compliance of the apartment block at Beamore Road that was otherwise ready to be occupied.

Coreet claimed the council adopted the belief that, due to an earlier administration default on the part of the developer, the law prevented it from issuing a certificate of readiness for the homes, which is a required step under the Building Control Regulations of 2014.

The company, which has registered offices at Herbert Place, Dublin 2, acknowledged it was in default by not submitting a “Seven Day Notice” to the local authority a week before it started works at the site.

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Coreet claimed the council adopted the belief that this default prevented it from issuing a certificate of readiness for the homes and the only option was for them to be demolished, a new commencement notice filed and the units rebuilt.

The central issue in the action was how the late filing could be rectified in accordance with the 2014 regulations.

The case was due to come for hearing earlier this month, but discussions between the parties led to its resolution. The court heard the local authority has agreed to register the particulars of the certificate of compliance on the register it maintains under the 2014 regulations.

On Monday, counsel for Meath County Council, Jarlath Fitzsimons SC, said substantial progress had been made by the parties in implementing the settlement.

Mr Justice Denis McDonald adjourned the case for a week to allow the parties to deal with a few outstanding matters.

The case had been admitted to the fast-track Commercial Court last November, with both sides agreeing there was urgency to the case.

The developer submitted the houses were needed during a housing crisis, while the council said prospective occupants had been identified from its housing list but they could not move in until the legal snag was resolved.

The action was against Meath County Council, Ireland, the attorney general and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.