Council under pressure to buy NAMA properties

DUN Laoghaire Rathdown County Council is under pressure to buy NAMA-owned property coming onto the market so that it can be safeguarded for future public use.

The State body recently put the landmark Kilternan Hotel and Country Club on the market through agents Colliers International.

The commercial real estate company said the property, which consists of a substantially completed hotel and sports complex, offers unlimited potential for a wide variety of uses in a scenic rural setting located just 30 minutes from Dublin City Centre.

The accommodation boasts a 128-bed, 16,500sqm hotel with extensive conferencing and function capability, a 6,900sqm sports complex with indoor tennis courts, a 25-metre swimming pool, gym and training area and a 78 unit

‘Aparthotel’ at an early stage of construction.

“The sheer scale of the sports complex needs to be seen to be appreciated,

? the company’s website declares.

The famous heritage estate, Fernhill Gardens in Sandyford, which is also in the hands of NAMA, is also due to be sold on the private property market.

The 84-acre site consists of about 45 wooded acres that had been open to the public before the estate was closed in recent years.

A motion calling on Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to buy the historic house and gardens at the foot of the Dublin Mountains has been tabled by Cllr Lettie McCarthy (Lab).

“It would be an investment and would complement the other parks owned by the council,

? she said.

“It is a national treasure and should be open to the public.

?

Cllr Victor Boyhan (Ind), a landscape gardener, also called on the council to investigate all options, including a land swap, with NAMA to acquire Fernhill.

Aileen Eglington, a Fine Gael candidate for the local elections, who is running in the Glencullen Ward, believes the council should play a key role in ensuring that NAMA-held property is properly managed for the county.

Ms Eglington, who has been involved with the Kilternan Glenamuck Residents’ Association as PRO and committee member, said many battles had been fought by locals with developers and the council in the past on how planning for the area should take into account the rural aspect of the county.

“During that time, many projects were started and left unfinished, and are now in NAMA,

? she said.

“They include large sites, such as the Kilternan Hotel, small houses on tracts of land that have remained undeveloped but left to ruin, as well as key heritage estates like Fernhill Gardens.

“I just think the council should be doing more to safeguard these fantastic properties and beautiful sites so the public can enjoy them into the future.

?

There was nobody at Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council available for comment at time of going to press.