THE PROPOSED “Dart Underground” line linking Heuston Station with Spencer Dock took a step closer to reality yesterday when Iarnród Éireann flagged it in the EU’s Official Journal.
Describing the notice as the first phase “in what is set to be a year of major significance in the development of Dart Underground”, the rail company stated that an application for a Railway Order for the project is due to be lodged next month.
Dart Underground is to be procured as a public private partnership (PPP) project, and the publication of an indicative notice outlining its scope and duration is the first stage of a competitive process to select a private sector partner.
The proposed 7.6km line will run through Dublin, with underground stations at Heuston, Christchurch, St Stephen’s Green, Westland Row and Spencer Dock as well as a new station at surface level in Inchicore.
According to Iarnród Éireann, Dart Underground “will, for the first time, link all rail systems together into an integrated and cohesive network”. This would include the northern, Kildare and Maynooth commuter lines, the existing Dart line, intercity services, Luas and Metro.
Twin tunnels, each containing a single track, will be excavated at an average depth of 24m (nearly 80ft) below ground level. The tunnel entrances will be at Inchicore and in the Docklands.
The project would facilitate two high-capacity Dart lines, proposed as Drogheda/Howth to Hazelhatch and Maynooth to Greystones. Dart trains on the northern line would bypass Connolly Station, enter the tunnel at Docklands and emerge at Inchicore. Iarnród Éireann said this would free up Connolly Station, currently a major bottleneck, and facilitate a new high-frequency Dart line “with greatly increased capacity from Maynooth through Connolly and all the way to Greystones”.
With trains operating “up to every three minutes”, it said the project — a key element of Transport 21 — “will complete the transformation of the Greater Dublin Area’s rail service capacity from 33 million passenger journeys annually now to over 100 million passenger journeys.”
Iarnród Éireann said it intended to publish a contract notice in the EU’s Official Journal in the second quarter of 2010, which would set out a process to “pre-qualify” potential private partners who would be invited to tender.
Interested parties who register their interest will receive the Dart Underground market consultation brochure, which includes a questionnaire and invites views on the scope and procurement of the contract. Replies are due by March 4th.
Iarnród Éireann has prepared a “reference design” to support its application for a Railway Order at the end of March. It said that addressing regulatory and planning issues early in the procurement process would provide greater certainty to bidders.
Under the PPP contract, the successful private partner would be responsible for the design, construction, financing, commissioning, operation and maintenance of the tunnel, stations and associated facilities over 25 to 35 years.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Arresting developments at the station
From the postcard-picturesque to the imposing authoritarian, Garda stations across Ireland are a wide and varied range of buildings that flit in and out of the public consciousness, writes GEMMA TIPTON
WHEN WAS THE last time you were in a Garda station? Barring events ranging from the unpleasant, to the utterly awful, most of us only visit five or six times in a lifetime.
We go on simple errands, such as picking up forms, or getting a passport photo signed. The passport photo visit is an interesting one: unless you are, to use the phrase, “known to the gardaí”, your rare interaction with our forces of law and order is to ask them to lie for you, which they are generally happy to do, as they sign the section declaring “I have known this person for x number of years . . . ” even though they have never come across you in their lives before.
Those of us who visit Garda stations more frequently, although not necessarily voluntarily, have an understandably different view of the places. They may or may not attest to the factual accuracy of The Bill , but it is unlikely whether any of us ever reflect on the rich slice of architectural heritage these buildings represent.
Garda stations don’t simply show us architectural history, they also respond to and demonstrate the changing social and anti-social climate of Ireland, and a look at our stations turns up some fascinating finds. When the Garda was established as a completely new police force, at the time of the foundation of the State in 1922, a great many buildings were “inherited” from the disbanded RIC. These had been designed by the former Board of Works; others, such as banks and libraries, were taken over and adapted to the purpose.
The former RIC stock that is still in use as Garda stations today includes a range of types. There are postcard-picturesque places, like the one in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow. This is in contrast to the imposing authoritarian buildings, such as in Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon, where the station is included in the courthouse complex, and is designed to emphasise the structures of authority. In Greystones, Co Wicklow, the Garda station was, and still is, incorporated into the Coastguard building. It still looks impressive today, even though some of its length has been given over to private housing.
My favourites among these types, despite the original intent of their architects, are the rather magnificent “castle-style” barracks, designed to impress and intimidate the locals in the mid-19th century, following the Fenian rising. Many were destroyed in the 1920s, but those that do remain include Ballyduff Garda station in Waterford, and the station at Bennetsbridge in Kilkenny, which is essentially a large square country house with enormous turrets flanking the façade. The word “barracks” dates from the time the forces lived in them, but if you want to stay in one of these atmospheric buildings, without first committing a crime, the castellated station at Naas is now the Naas Court Hotel.
Another former British-administration station, though this time built for the Dublin Metropolitan Police (urban counterparts to the RIC), is Pearse Street Garda station. This appears grey and even somewhat soulless from a distance, but go up close to the arched doorways, and you’ll see little policemen’s heads, some with moustaches, and wearing different styles of helmets adorning the façades¨ (below right).
Of the “Bridewells”, the detention centres that take their name from the hostel for homeless boys and “ladies of the night” opened at St Bride’s Well in London in the 17th century, a great number were sacked and destroyed in Ireland, though the one in Dublin still functions as a Garda station.
But for another slice of history, go to Kevin Street in Dublin: Ireland’s first metropolitan station, when it opened in the early 19th century. Parts of the building date back to 1186, when it was the Palace of St Sepulchre’s, the Archbishop’s House. There are plans for a new build Divisional Headquarters on the corner site beside the original station, and discussions about finding a cultural use for the historic structure are ongoing.
Into the present; as times change, crimes and communities change too. The hatches, hated by the public, but perhaps necessary for the protection of those within, are disappearing and being replaced by more open reception areas, supported by CCTV and security doors. Confidential interview rooms are appearing, as are community rooms, and once-forbidding aspects are tempered with glass and public art.
At the irishtown station in Dublin 4, the artwork, by Elke Western, is a long panel of coloured glass letting in jewelled shafts of light. The building won an Opus Award last year: the judges called it “a beacon of hope of what Garda stations could be”. Behind the scenes at Irishtown, it is more like The Bill than I might have imagined. There is no moveable furniture in the foyer, where all is smooth stone surfaces, with a counter at wheelchair height. There is the regulation notice board, with posters for rabies and Crimestoppers, but going beyond this, one soon realises that Garda stations are rather like icebergs – in that the public areas are just a very small part of what actually goes on.
THERE ARE OFFICES, interview rooms, community rooms, rooms where radios are charged up, drying rooms for wet uniforms, changing rooms, rest rooms, interview rooms (where one of the quartet of chairs – the one intended for the inter-
viewee – is bolted to the floor), and a small gym. There is a cabinet of memorabilia, which includes a booklet with a simple diagram demonstrating how best to put down a horse. This dates from the days when that was one of the functions of the force, and shows an arrow to a point on the horse’s forehead, marked “A”.
There is also an evidence and lost property room containing such items as golf clubs, box files, and a bag where the handwritten text describes the contents as a particular make of runners, and that they are evidence in a murder case.
And then there are the cells. These are reached by a separate door at the back, and are all smooth surfaces and coldly practical. Each cell is for a single occupant, and oddly enough, the juvenile detention cells are larger than those for adults. All have a built-in platform for sleeping, with a plastic mattress, a toilet, and a hatch in the door. I don’t know whether stories of detainees escaping through the slim hatches are apocryphal, but I’m sure many of the true stories these spaces have witnessed would be enough to give anyone pause.
The stations we have today are built by the Office of Public Works (OPW), which takes on what’s called a “brief of requirements” from the Garda, and which works off that to try to come up with buildings that fulfil the complex role of symbolising security, community engagement, State authority, civic pride, civic reassurance and, where appropriate, deterrence.
NOT ALL STATIONS are new builds; conscious of Ireland’s stock of Garda stations as a sort of living museum, mirroring our changing society, some are refurbishments, such as that planned for Clonark in Co Roscommon. The original drawings for Clonark, dating from the 1940s, show latrines out the back, and notes pointing out the designated spaces for “chickens belonging to Sergeant” and “Sergeant’s vegetable patch”.
Like all architecture, our Garda stations reflect who is in charge, who we are and, more interestingly, who we think we are. The Opus judges, giving the award to Irishtown, noted that “Garda stations are buildings that flicker in and out of public consciousness”. This is true, and while I don’t think architecture can change society on its own, I do believe good and sensitive building can help society to make change. You don’t have to wait for a passport photograph or an unpleasant incident to take a look at your local Garda station: go along and see what it has to say for itself, and also what it has say about the Ireland we’re making for ourselves.
Architectural forces
Ballyduff, Co Waterford : a gothic fantasy of a Garda station.
Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath : complete with arched windows and fanlights, half would have once been station, and half accommodation.
Kenmare, Co Kerry: recently refurbished, and very, very pretty.
Kilkenny City and Harcourt Terrace, Dublin : built in the 1940s and showing that neo-Georgian wasn’t just a 1980s craze.
Knocknagree, North Cork: mightn’t look like much at first glance, but it’s what’s known as “Domestic Revival”, a typical 1930s style of architecture.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
WHEN WAS THE last time you were in a Garda station? Barring events ranging from the unpleasant, to the utterly awful, most of us only visit five or six times in a lifetime.
We go on simple errands, such as picking up forms, or getting a passport photo signed. The passport photo visit is an interesting one: unless you are, to use the phrase, “known to the gardaí”, your rare interaction with our forces of law and order is to ask them to lie for you, which they are generally happy to do, as they sign the section declaring “I have known this person for x number of years . . . ” even though they have never come across you in their lives before.
Those of us who visit Garda stations more frequently, although not necessarily voluntarily, have an understandably different view of the places. They may or may not attest to the factual accuracy of The Bill , but it is unlikely whether any of us ever reflect on the rich slice of architectural heritage these buildings represent.
Garda stations don’t simply show us architectural history, they also respond to and demonstrate the changing social and anti-social climate of Ireland, and a look at our stations turns up some fascinating finds. When the Garda was established as a completely new police force, at the time of the foundation of the State in 1922, a great many buildings were “inherited” from the disbanded RIC. These had been designed by the former Board of Works; others, such as banks and libraries, were taken over and adapted to the purpose.
The former RIC stock that is still in use as Garda stations today includes a range of types. There are postcard-picturesque places, like the one in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow. This is in contrast to the imposing authoritarian buildings, such as in Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon, where the station is included in the courthouse complex, and is designed to emphasise the structures of authority. In Greystones, Co Wicklow, the Garda station was, and still is, incorporated into the Coastguard building. It still looks impressive today, even though some of its length has been given over to private housing.
My favourites among these types, despite the original intent of their architects, are the rather magnificent “castle-style” barracks, designed to impress and intimidate the locals in the mid-19th century, following the Fenian rising. Many were destroyed in the 1920s, but those that do remain include Ballyduff Garda station in Waterford, and the station at Bennetsbridge in Kilkenny, which is essentially a large square country house with enormous turrets flanking the façade. The word “barracks” dates from the time the forces lived in them, but if you want to stay in one of these atmospheric buildings, without first committing a crime, the castellated station at Naas is now the Naas Court Hotel.
Another former British-administration station, though this time built for the Dublin Metropolitan Police (urban counterparts to the RIC), is Pearse Street Garda station. This appears grey and even somewhat soulless from a distance, but go up close to the arched doorways, and you’ll see little policemen’s heads, some with moustaches, and wearing different styles of helmets adorning the façades¨ (below right).
Of the “Bridewells”, the detention centres that take their name from the hostel for homeless boys and “ladies of the night” opened at St Bride’s Well in London in the 17th century, a great number were sacked and destroyed in Ireland, though the one in Dublin still functions as a Garda station.
But for another slice of history, go to Kevin Street in Dublin: Ireland’s first metropolitan station, when it opened in the early 19th century. Parts of the building date back to 1186, when it was the Palace of St Sepulchre’s, the Archbishop’s House. There are plans for a new build Divisional Headquarters on the corner site beside the original station, and discussions about finding a cultural use for the historic structure are ongoing.
Into the present; as times change, crimes and communities change too. The hatches, hated by the public, but perhaps necessary for the protection of those within, are disappearing and being replaced by more open reception areas, supported by CCTV and security doors. Confidential interview rooms are appearing, as are community rooms, and once-forbidding aspects are tempered with glass and public art.
At the irishtown station in Dublin 4, the artwork, by Elke Western, is a long panel of coloured glass letting in jewelled shafts of light. The building won an Opus Award last year: the judges called it “a beacon of hope of what Garda stations could be”. Behind the scenes at Irishtown, it is more like The Bill than I might have imagined. There is no moveable furniture in the foyer, where all is smooth stone surfaces, with a counter at wheelchair height. There is the regulation notice board, with posters for rabies and Crimestoppers, but going beyond this, one soon realises that Garda stations are rather like icebergs – in that the public areas are just a very small part of what actually goes on.
THERE ARE OFFICES, interview rooms, community rooms, rooms where radios are charged up, drying rooms for wet uniforms, changing rooms, rest rooms, interview rooms (where one of the quartet of chairs – the one intended for the inter-
viewee – is bolted to the floor), and a small gym. There is a cabinet of memorabilia, which includes a booklet with a simple diagram demonstrating how best to put down a horse. This dates from the days when that was one of the functions of the force, and shows an arrow to a point on the horse’s forehead, marked “A”.
There is also an evidence and lost property room containing such items as golf clubs, box files, and a bag where the handwritten text describes the contents as a particular make of runners, and that they are evidence in a murder case.
And then there are the cells. These are reached by a separate door at the back, and are all smooth surfaces and coldly practical. Each cell is for a single occupant, and oddly enough, the juvenile detention cells are larger than those for adults. All have a built-in platform for sleeping, with a plastic mattress, a toilet, and a hatch in the door. I don’t know whether stories of detainees escaping through the slim hatches are apocryphal, but I’m sure many of the true stories these spaces have witnessed would be enough to give anyone pause.
The stations we have today are built by the Office of Public Works (OPW), which takes on what’s called a “brief of requirements” from the Garda, and which works off that to try to come up with buildings that fulfil the complex role of symbolising security, community engagement, State authority, civic pride, civic reassurance and, where appropriate, deterrence.
NOT ALL STATIONS are new builds; conscious of Ireland’s stock of Garda stations as a sort of living museum, mirroring our changing society, some are refurbishments, such as that planned for Clonark in Co Roscommon. The original drawings for Clonark, dating from the 1940s, show latrines out the back, and notes pointing out the designated spaces for “chickens belonging to Sergeant” and “Sergeant’s vegetable patch”.
Like all architecture, our Garda stations reflect who is in charge, who we are and, more interestingly, who we think we are. The Opus judges, giving the award to Irishtown, noted that “Garda stations are buildings that flicker in and out of public consciousness”. This is true, and while I don’t think architecture can change society on its own, I do believe good and sensitive building can help society to make change. You don’t have to wait for a passport photograph or an unpleasant incident to take a look at your local Garda station: go along and see what it has to say for itself, and also what it has say about the Ireland we’re making for ourselves.
Architectural forces
Ballyduff, Co Waterford : a gothic fantasy of a Garda station.
Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath : complete with arched windows and fanlights, half would have once been station, and half accommodation.
Kenmare, Co Kerry: recently refurbished, and very, very pretty.
Kilkenny City and Harcourt Terrace, Dublin : built in the 1940s and showing that neo-Georgian wasn’t just a 1980s craze.
Knocknagree, North Cork: mightn’t look like much at first glance, but it’s what’s known as “Domestic Revival”, a typical 1930s style of architecture.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
New Trinity plan for Pearse St
TRINITY COLLEGE Dublin is in discussions with city planners on a number of schemes to create new access and improve the college’s physical relationship with Pearse Street.
Under the latest proposals, the college, which in recent years was refused planning permission to demolish numbers 183 to 187 Pearse Street to facilitate the creation of a new “north gate”, is seeking permission to redevelop the adjacent former sports hall, Luce Hall.
This application envisages a 4,400 sq m student centre in Luce Hall with a new extension opening on to Pearse Street, east of number 183. It is to provide for a student centre incorporating social and recreational areas, a health centre, cafés and the possible relocation of the current day nursery.
The student centre could also host gigs, access to which would be through the new extension on to Pearse Street.
Trinity College said the proposal, which is the subject of a request for more information from city planners, is complementary to the college’s longer-term aim of improving its access and presence on Pearse Street. Ten years ago, Trinity held an international design competition to develop a scheme for numbers 183 to 205, roughly from the railway bridge at Moss Street in a westerly direction almost as far as Tara Street, and outline permission was granted for the new north gate entrance.
The plans also envisaged changes to the physical appearance of the terrace of houses on Pearse Street, many of which feature bricks in place of the original windows. Under the scheme, the ground floors would be reopened as offices and some retail activity which would encourage interaction with pedestrians on the street.
The scheme also included two new buildings to be built on a site behind the Pearse Street houses, overlooking the college rugby pitch. These buildings would be linked by walkways at two levels to the houses on the Pearse Street terrace which would be refurbished to provide residential accommodation at the upper levels.
The ground floors of the terrace would be opened up to office and commercial activity allowing interaction with pedestrians on Pearse Street. The proposed area of the overall development is scheduled at 18,400 sq m, including the 4,400 sq m in Luce Hall.
However while outline planning permission for the overall development was secured, a planning application for the demolition of numbers 183 to 187 was rejected by the city council and An Bord Pleanála, not least because the houses are listed for preservation in the city development plan.
Now Trinity is in discussions with the planners again on the possibility of a smaller, arch-style entrance, modelled on the college’s front gate, which would be large enough to allow access for a fire engine. Trinity College’s director of buildings Paul Mangan told The Irish Times that the last decade had seen a number of improvements to college property fronting on to Pearse Street.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Under the latest proposals, the college, which in recent years was refused planning permission to demolish numbers 183 to 187 Pearse Street to facilitate the creation of a new “north gate”, is seeking permission to redevelop the adjacent former sports hall, Luce Hall.
This application envisages a 4,400 sq m student centre in Luce Hall with a new extension opening on to Pearse Street, east of number 183. It is to provide for a student centre incorporating social and recreational areas, a health centre, cafés and the possible relocation of the current day nursery.
The student centre could also host gigs, access to which would be through the new extension on to Pearse Street.
Trinity College said the proposal, which is the subject of a request for more information from city planners, is complementary to the college’s longer-term aim of improving its access and presence on Pearse Street. Ten years ago, Trinity held an international design competition to develop a scheme for numbers 183 to 205, roughly from the railway bridge at Moss Street in a westerly direction almost as far as Tara Street, and outline permission was granted for the new north gate entrance.
The plans also envisaged changes to the physical appearance of the terrace of houses on Pearse Street, many of which feature bricks in place of the original windows. Under the scheme, the ground floors would be reopened as offices and some retail activity which would encourage interaction with pedestrians on the street.
The scheme also included two new buildings to be built on a site behind the Pearse Street houses, overlooking the college rugby pitch. These buildings would be linked by walkways at two levels to the houses on the Pearse Street terrace which would be refurbished to provide residential accommodation at the upper levels.
The ground floors of the terrace would be opened up to office and commercial activity allowing interaction with pedestrians on Pearse Street. The proposed area of the overall development is scheduled at 18,400 sq m, including the 4,400 sq m in Luce Hall.
However while outline planning permission for the overall development was secured, a planning application for the demolition of numbers 183 to 187 was rejected by the city council and An Bord Pleanála, not least because the houses are listed for preservation in the city development plan.
Now Trinity is in discussions with the planners again on the possibility of a smaller, arch-style entrance, modelled on the college’s front gate, which would be large enough to allow access for a fire engine. Trinity College’s director of buildings Paul Mangan told The Irish Times that the last decade had seen a number of improvements to college property fronting on to Pearse Street.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Developer faces legal action for running unauthorised car park
DEVELOPER RAY Grehan faces legal action by Dublin City Council for running an unauthorised car park at the former veterinary college site in Ballsbridge for which he paid more than €170 million four years ago.
The 200-space car park is one of six which the council is taking enforcement proceedings against after warnings to close were not complied with. The council has issued a further four warning letters to businesses and individuals for operating car parks without permission and is investigating several others.
Mr Grehan last June secured planning permission from Bord Pleanála for a development of apartments, shops and offices on the 2.2 acre site, but said he was not in a position to proceed with the scheme at that time.
Yesterday he said he could not understand the council’s actions as the permission included sanction for 280 parking spaces. There was also an existing permission on the site for a car park for the use of nearby business Ballsbridge Motors, which does not run out until later this year.
“I think it’s bizarre that they’re refusing it in the current climate. There are 200 spaces in a key location where parking is needed, given the closure of the Wesley car park.”
Mr Grehan said he planned to appeal the council’s decision.
He said he hoped to develop the site as sanctioned by An Bord Pleanála once the economy recovered.
All car parks must have planning permission, specific to the type of car park (whether public or private), and the number of spaces, the council said. Public car parks also pay rates to the council, which are set at a higher level than car parks which may be attached to a business or apartment developments and are for staff or residents only. There are about 20 authorised parks in Dublin city centre and these are being undercut by illegal operators, Tom Coffey of the Dublin City Business Association said.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The 200-space car park is one of six which the council is taking enforcement proceedings against after warnings to close were not complied with. The council has issued a further four warning letters to businesses and individuals for operating car parks without permission and is investigating several others.
Mr Grehan last June secured planning permission from Bord Pleanála for a development of apartments, shops and offices on the 2.2 acre site, but said he was not in a position to proceed with the scheme at that time.
Yesterday he said he could not understand the council’s actions as the permission included sanction for 280 parking spaces. There was also an existing permission on the site for a car park for the use of nearby business Ballsbridge Motors, which does not run out until later this year.
“I think it’s bizarre that they’re refusing it in the current climate. There are 200 spaces in a key location where parking is needed, given the closure of the Wesley car park.”
Mr Grehan said he planned to appeal the council’s decision.
He said he hoped to develop the site as sanctioned by An Bord Pleanála once the economy recovered.
All car parks must have planning permission, specific to the type of car park (whether public or private), and the number of spaces, the council said. Public car parks also pay rates to the council, which are set at a higher level than car parks which may be attached to a business or apartment developments and are for staff or residents only. There are about 20 authorised parks in Dublin city centre and these are being undercut by illegal operators, Tom Coffey of the Dublin City Business Association said.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Site in Ballydoyle dispute fails to sell
A SIGNIFICANT agricultural property in the heart of Tipperary’s racehorse country failed to sell at auction yesterday.
The 91-acre site at Castleblake, near Rosegreen village, is close to the Ballydoyle racing stables and a few kilometres from the country’s leading stud farm, Coolmore.
The lot included “top-class” land, a “substantial” range of buildings and machinery and a licensed but currently unused rendering plant. However, the auction produced only a single bid of €500,000, which was declined and the property withdrawn. The auctioneer told The Irish Times that “two machines alone” on the land were worth €600,000.
The auction, at the premises of PF Quirke & Co in Clonmel, had generated significant interest as it was expected to provide an indication of the current state of the property market and a guide to land values.
Auctioneer Patrick Quirke’s request for an opening bid of €4 million was met by stony silence. He then dropped the price twice by increments of half-a-million but still failed to elicit any interest. Having failed to attract a bid at €3 million, he proposed to withdraw the property and wondered if the attendees hadn’t “just come for a day out”.
At that point he received a bid of €500,000 from Dominic Daly, a “property consultant, auctioneer and valuer” in Cork who was “acting on behalf of a client”. The five-minute auction then ended without a sale and Mr Daly was invited to attend private negotiations. The vendors, a business consortium which includes the well-known Ronan family, had hoped to build an animal waste processing facility on the site to generate “green” electricity.
Objections were raised by Coolmore and Ballydoyle with trainer Aidan O’Brien claiming the proposed development would have “ruined all the land in terms of raising horses”. After a public hearing in 2008, An Bord Pleanála rejected the proposal.
Local people had expected Coolmore’s billionaire owner, John Magnier, to buy the land.
However, the auctioneer said “he didn’t view it but his agents could have”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The 91-acre site at Castleblake, near Rosegreen village, is close to the Ballydoyle racing stables and a few kilometres from the country’s leading stud farm, Coolmore.
The lot included “top-class” land, a “substantial” range of buildings and machinery and a licensed but currently unused rendering plant. However, the auction produced only a single bid of €500,000, which was declined and the property withdrawn. The auctioneer told The Irish Times that “two machines alone” on the land were worth €600,000.
The auction, at the premises of PF Quirke & Co in Clonmel, had generated significant interest as it was expected to provide an indication of the current state of the property market and a guide to land values.
Auctioneer Patrick Quirke’s request for an opening bid of €4 million was met by stony silence. He then dropped the price twice by increments of half-a-million but still failed to elicit any interest. Having failed to attract a bid at €3 million, he proposed to withdraw the property and wondered if the attendees hadn’t “just come for a day out”.
At that point he received a bid of €500,000 from Dominic Daly, a “property consultant, auctioneer and valuer” in Cork who was “acting on behalf of a client”. The five-minute auction then ended without a sale and Mr Daly was invited to attend private negotiations. The vendors, a business consortium which includes the well-known Ronan family, had hoped to build an animal waste processing facility on the site to generate “green” electricity.
Objections were raised by Coolmore and Ballydoyle with trainer Aidan O’Brien claiming the proposed development would have “ruined all the land in terms of raising horses”. After a public hearing in 2008, An Bord Pleanála rejected the proposal.
Local people had expected Coolmore’s billionaire owner, John Magnier, to buy the land.
However, the auctioneer said “he didn’t view it but his agents could have”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 7 February 2010
Sixty-eight houses refused permission
A PLANNING application for 68 houses in Rathdrum has been turned down because the developer involved didn't complete two housing estates to the satisfaction of the county council.
It's the first time in Wicklow that an application has been refused because an individual or company failed in the past to comply with a permission that had been granted.
The director of Holross Holdings Ltd., Phillip Shannon, is also the director of Pronto Developments Ltd. and Benrele Limited.
Those two companies failed to comply with previous planning permissions granted for Yachtsman's Point and Pebble Bay.
Yachtsman's Point was left with fences used as boundaries instead of walls, missing footpaths and kerbs and a public open space which was never levelled.
In Pebble Bay, footpaths are cracked, there are water leaks and manholes have subsided.
SEE PAGE 9 PLANNING permission for 68 houses in Rathdrum has been rejected because the developer behind the project never properly finished off two housing estates in Wicklow town.
Holross Holdings Ltd. and Director Phillip Shannon are the first case in County Wicklow to fall foul of amendments to sections 34 and 35 of the Planning and Development Act, which permits planning authorities to refuse planning permission to an individual or company that has failed in the past to comply with a permission that was granted.
The new bill was introduced to take on rouge builders and land speculators who left housing developments unfinished. This could also be the first time a development anywhere in Ireland has been turned down for such a reason.
Wicklow County Council's housing department refused the application for the development at Ballygannon because the Directors of Holross Holdings Limited are the same directors of Pronto Developments Limited. Philip Shannon is a Director of Pronto Developments Ltd. and also a Director of Benrele Limited. Benrele Limited and Pronto Developments have both not complied with previous grants of planning permission at Yachtsman's Point and Pebble Bay.
Cllr. Pat Casey believes the council's stance will send out a message to other developers.
'The amendment puts the onus back on the developer and gives the council the power not to grant permission to developers who haven't finished estates in the past,' he said.
Yachtsman's Point was left with fences used as boundaries instead of walls, missing footpaths and kerbs and a public open space which was never levelled, drained or grassed and is considered to be in an unsafe condition.
In Pebble Bay footpaths have cracked or subsided at numerous locations presenting a trip-hazard, there are water leaks within six locations within the development, no CCTV survey of surface water and foul sewers was submitted, manholes have subsided and the open spaces have not been dedicated to the use of residents as required by the planning granted.
Myles BUCHANAN
Wicklow People
www.buckplanning.ie
It's the first time in Wicklow that an application has been refused because an individual or company failed in the past to comply with a permission that had been granted.
The director of Holross Holdings Ltd., Phillip Shannon, is also the director of Pronto Developments Ltd. and Benrele Limited.
Those two companies failed to comply with previous planning permissions granted for Yachtsman's Point and Pebble Bay.
Yachtsman's Point was left with fences used as boundaries instead of walls, missing footpaths and kerbs and a public open space which was never levelled.
In Pebble Bay, footpaths are cracked, there are water leaks and manholes have subsided.
SEE PAGE 9 PLANNING permission for 68 houses in Rathdrum has been rejected because the developer behind the project never properly finished off two housing estates in Wicklow town.
Holross Holdings Ltd. and Director Phillip Shannon are the first case in County Wicklow to fall foul of amendments to sections 34 and 35 of the Planning and Development Act, which permits planning authorities to refuse planning permission to an individual or company that has failed in the past to comply with a permission that was granted.
The new bill was introduced to take on rouge builders and land speculators who left housing developments unfinished. This could also be the first time a development anywhere in Ireland has been turned down for such a reason.
Wicklow County Council's housing department refused the application for the development at Ballygannon because the Directors of Holross Holdings Limited are the same directors of Pronto Developments Limited. Philip Shannon is a Director of Pronto Developments Ltd. and also a Director of Benrele Limited. Benrele Limited and Pronto Developments have both not complied with previous grants of planning permission at Yachtsman's Point and Pebble Bay.
Cllr. Pat Casey believes the council's stance will send out a message to other developers.
'The amendment puts the onus back on the developer and gives the council the power not to grant permission to developers who haven't finished estates in the past,' he said.
Yachtsman's Point was left with fences used as boundaries instead of walls, missing footpaths and kerbs and a public open space which was never levelled, drained or grassed and is considered to be in an unsafe condition.
In Pebble Bay footpaths have cracked or subsided at numerous locations presenting a trip-hazard, there are water leaks within six locations within the development, no CCTV survey of surface water and foul sewers was submitted, manholes have subsided and the open spaces have not been dedicated to the use of residents as required by the planning granted.
Myles BUCHANAN
Wicklow People
www.buckplanning.ie
House plan fails over developer's past work
A PLANNING application for 68 houses in Rathdrum has been turned down because the developer involved didn't complete two housing estates to the satisfaction of the county council.
It's the first time in Wicklow that an application has been refused because an individual or company failed in the past to comply with a permission that had been granted.
The director of Holross Holdings Ltd., Phillip Shannon, is also the director of Pronto Developments Ltd. and Benrele Limited.
Those two companies failed to comply with previous planning permissions granted for Yachtsman's Point and Pebble Bay.
Yachtsman's Point was left with fences used as boundaries instead of walls, missing footpaths and kerbs and a public open space which was never levelled.
In Pebble Bay, footpaths are cracked, there are water leaks and manholes have subsided.
SEE PAGE 9 PLANNING permission for 68 houses in Rathdrum has been rejected because the developer behind the project never properly finished off two housing estates in Wicklow town.
Holross Holdings Ltd. and Director Phillip Shannon are the first case in County Wicklow to fall foul of amendments to sections 34 and 35 of the Planning and Development Act, which permits planning authorities to refuse planning permission to an individual or company that has failed in the past to comply with a permission that was granted.
The new bill was introduced to take on rouge builders and land speculators who left housing developments unfinished. This could also be the first time a development anywhere in Ireland has been turned down for such a reason.
Wicklow County Council's housing department refused the application for the development at Ballygannon because the Directors of Holross Holdings Limited are the same directors of Pronto Developments Limited. Philip Shannon is a Director of Pronto Developments Ltd. and also a Director of Benrele Limited. Benrele Limited and Pronto Developments have both not complied with previous grants of planning permission at Yachtsman's Point and Pebble Bay.
Cllr. Pat Casey believes the council's stance will send out a message to other developers.
'The amendment puts the onus back on the developer and gives the council the power not to grant permission to developers who haven't finished estates in the past,' he said.
Yachtsman's Point was left with fences used as boundaries instead of walls, missing footpaths and kerbs and a public open space which was never levelled, drained or grassed and is considered to be in an unsafe condition.
In Pebble Bay footpaths have cracked or subsided at numerous locations presenting a trip-hazard, there are water leaks within six locations within the development, no CCTV survey of surface water and foul sewers was submitted, manholes have subsided and the open spaces have not been dedicated to the use of residents as required by the planning granted.
Myles BUCHANAN
Wicklow People
www.buckplanning.ie
It's the first time in Wicklow that an application has been refused because an individual or company failed in the past to comply with a permission that had been granted.
The director of Holross Holdings Ltd., Phillip Shannon, is also the director of Pronto Developments Ltd. and Benrele Limited.
Those two companies failed to comply with previous planning permissions granted for Yachtsman's Point and Pebble Bay.
Yachtsman's Point was left with fences used as boundaries instead of walls, missing footpaths and kerbs and a public open space which was never levelled.
In Pebble Bay, footpaths are cracked, there are water leaks and manholes have subsided.
SEE PAGE 9 PLANNING permission for 68 houses in Rathdrum has been rejected because the developer behind the project never properly finished off two housing estates in Wicklow town.
Holross Holdings Ltd. and Director Phillip Shannon are the first case in County Wicklow to fall foul of amendments to sections 34 and 35 of the Planning and Development Act, which permits planning authorities to refuse planning permission to an individual or company that has failed in the past to comply with a permission that was granted.
The new bill was introduced to take on rouge builders and land speculators who left housing developments unfinished. This could also be the first time a development anywhere in Ireland has been turned down for such a reason.
Wicklow County Council's housing department refused the application for the development at Ballygannon because the Directors of Holross Holdings Limited are the same directors of Pronto Developments Limited. Philip Shannon is a Director of Pronto Developments Ltd. and also a Director of Benrele Limited. Benrele Limited and Pronto Developments have both not complied with previous grants of planning permission at Yachtsman's Point and Pebble Bay.
Cllr. Pat Casey believes the council's stance will send out a message to other developers.
'The amendment puts the onus back on the developer and gives the council the power not to grant permission to developers who haven't finished estates in the past,' he said.
Yachtsman's Point was left with fences used as boundaries instead of walls, missing footpaths and kerbs and a public open space which was never levelled, drained or grassed and is considered to be in an unsafe condition.
In Pebble Bay footpaths have cracked or subsided at numerous locations presenting a trip-hazard, there are water leaks within six locations within the development, no CCTV survey of surface water and foul sewers was submitted, manholes have subsided and the open spaces have not been dedicated to the use of residents as required by the planning granted.
Myles BUCHANAN
Wicklow People
www.buckplanning.ie
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