Waterford City and County Council is set to pay a substantial legal bill after withdrawing its High Court judicial review over planning permission granted for the Ferrybank Shopping Centre.

While the final figure has yet to be determined, Chief Executive Sean McKeown confirmed this week that Waterford will be responsible for paying the legal costs of both Kilkenny County Council and Dunnes Stores following the withdrawal of the proceedings.

Addressing a meeting of Waterford City and County Council in City Hall, Mr McKeown accepted full responsibility for initiating the legal challenge, making it clear that elected councillors had no involvement in the decision.

“I want to clarify and confirm that it was myself that initiated the proceedings. The elected members had no part in that,” he told councillors.

He confirmed the court order requires Waterford Council to pay the full legal costs of both opposing parties.

“We don’t know what the level of those costs are but they will be substantial,” he said.

Mr McKeown also outlined why he believed the judicial review was necessary, stressing that the case had not been taken lightly.

According to the Chief Executive, Waterford’s legal advice was that the planning permission granted by Kilkenny County Council may have conflicted with its own County Development Plan. After considering that advice, the Council decided to seek a judicial review.

He pointed out that the High Court had granted Waterford leave to bring the judicial review in November 2025, saying this demonstrated that the case had met the legal threshold required to proceed.

Mr McKeown said Waterford’s concerns centred on planning permission granted to Dunnes Stores, which relied on an original permission dating back to 2006.

He argued that the earlier permission had never been commenced, had long since expired and was based on a retail environment that had changed significantly over almost two decades.

Because of that, Waterford believed a new Retail Impact Assessment should have been carried out under the requirements of Kilkenny County Council’s Development Plan.

Mr McKeown said the Development Plan requires a Retail Impact Assessment where retail development exceeds 500 square metres. The proposed retail floor area at Ferrybank was approximately 614 square metres, placing it above that threshold.

He also revealed that the planner who initially prepared the report for Kilkenny County Council had agreed that a Retail Impact Assessment was required. However, he said that recommendation was later overturned by more senior planning officials before permission was granted.

Mr McKeown said that while such decisions are not unheard of, they are relatively uncommon.

He also rejected suggestions that Waterford’s judicial review was simply an attempt to challenge the planning decision after its appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála failed.

According to Mr McKeown, Waterford’s appeal was never actually considered because it was deemed invalid after the Council did not receive the required acknowledgement from Kilkenny County Council in the prescribed format.

He said that, in those circumstances and following legal advice, Waterford proceeded with the judicial review.

The case came before Mr Justice Richard Humphreys in the High Court on June 11.

Mr McKeown said the judge indicated during the hearing that, if he proceeded to deliver a judgment, he intended to rule against Waterford City and County Council. Rather than immediately issuing that judgment, the court gave the Council time to consider its position.

Faced with that indication, Waterford decided to withdraw the proceedings before judgment was delivered.

Kilkenny County Council and Dunnes Stores then sought additional time to agree the wording of the court order, resulting in the matter being adjourned before the final order was made.

The order formally records the withdrawal of the judicial review and confirms that Waterford City and County Council is liable for the legal costs incurred by both Kilkenny County Council and Dunnes Stores.

Although the overall cost has yet to be assessed, Mr McKeown acknowledged that the financial impact on the local authority will be significant.

He concluded by saying that while the outcome was not the one the Council had hoped for, Waterford accepted the decision of the High Court and would now move forward.

The judicial review followed Kilkenny County Council’s decision in August 2025 to grant planning permission allowing Dunnes Stores to commence operations at the Ferrybank Shopping Centre. Waterford subsequently attempted to appeal that decision to An Coimisiún Pleanála, but the appeal was ruled invalid before the Council successfully obtained leave to pursue a judicial review in the High Court.

This week’s confirmation means Waterford will now carry the financial burden of a legal challenge that ultimately ended without a judgment being delivered, leaving the Council facing what its own Chief Executive has described as a substantial legal bill.