Liam Carroll's plans to develop a seven-storey office and retail building on Abbey St and Abbey Cottages in Dublin's inner city will have to be put on ice after it was ruled it would not comply with fire regulations.

An Bord Pleanála said the proposed building would not provide "adequate resistance to the spread of fire to and from neighbouring buildings".

The board said it had concerns about the proposed use of fire shutters externally "over the entire façade of the building onto Abbey Cottages; particularly in respect of ensuring adequate protection to occupants escaping the building" via a stairs leading onto the cul-de-sac laneway. Under Irish legislation, no works can be carried out on a building without a Fire Safety Cert.

Carroll, who will discover tomorrow if an examiner has been appointed to six of his companies that collectively owe more than €1.2bn, had applied through his Danninger vehicle for the demolition of the Abbey Street buildings and the construction of shops and six floors of offices in their place.

A Fire Safety Cert application was refused in February because of concerns about insufficient access for the fire service. That decision was appealed by Carroll to An Bord Pleanála.