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Irish Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Locals block OPW vehicles at Castletown House as dispute over access continues
Locals stopped essential service vehicles entering Castletown House estate in Celbridge, Co Kildare on Monday as the long-running dispute over public access to the site shows no sign of abating. On Monday morning Office of Public Works (OPW) staff attempted to use motorised buggies to accompany the vehicles from the Celbridge gate entrance along Lime Avenue, a path leading to the house used by locals and protesters, who claim it is not suitable for vehicles. Locals from the Save Castletown Gate Protectors (SCGP) group said the use of the route by service vehicles would make it unsafe for vulnerable pedestrians and people who use wheelchairs. Gardaí were also present at the scene of Monday's stand-off. READ MORE The dispute over access to Castletown House has been ongoing for 20 months. The house was acquired by the State in the 1990s and sits on a large estate that is popular with local walkers. The house, one of the most architecturally significant Palladian-style country homes in Ireland, was closed in 2023 in a dispute over a right of access to its lands. On the estate a 235-acre parcel of land that stretches from the M4 entrance to the house, was bought by a developer Kilross Properties in April 2023. The gate to Castletown House at Celbridge, Co Kildare. Photograph: Stephen Farrell The M4 entrance and nearby car park were closed to the public and to the OPW. OPW staff returned to Castletown House on April 10th for the first time in two years, with a goal of opening the house to the public at the end of May. Local representatives joined protesters at Monday's peaceful stand-off. They included Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly and Fianna Fáil TD Naoise Ó Cearúil, and councillors Rupert Heather (Lab), Nuala Killeen and Claire O'Rourke (both Social Democrats). [ Vandals cause €500,000 worth of damage to OPW site used to access Castletown House Opens in new window ] The OPW want four to five essential services vehicles to drive daily along Lime Avenue accompanied by a buggy. They announced this plan on social media on Friday. The State's property management agency said the use of the avenue is safe, citing a health and safety report carried out in 2024. Protesters from the SCGP group have proposed that any essential service vehicles are accompanied on foot by an OPW staff member. The OPW said this would be too costly, at €10,000 a year – a figure disputed by protesters. Locals want the entrance at the M4 Dublin to Galway motorway and nearby car park reopened to the public, which would also allow for ease of access for essential services vehicles. [ Challenge brought over alleged unauthorised erection of gates blocking access to Castletown House Opens in new window ] 'Lime Avenue is not the solution,' said Miriam Flynn, a member of the SCGP group. 'The solution required is for the Minister to do what's necessary for there to be access via the M4 entrance.' The OPW said it was developing an application for planning permission, which will be made this summer, for a visitor car park in the Kildare Innovation Centre. Ms Flynn criticised the delay in applying for this planning permission. Local woman Monica Joy, a member of the SCGP group, expressed frustration that local residents do not have proper access to the house and its grounds. 'If you take a drive around Celbridge, there are no amenities. There is no investment for communities even though huge numbers of houses have been built,' she said.
Irish Times
12-05-2025
- Irish Times
Challenge brought over alleged unauthorised erection of gates blocking access to Castletown House
A community group has claimed in the High Court that a set of gates allegedly blocking public access to a period house and its estate in Co Kildare is an unauthorised development. Save Castletown Committee CLG claim the gates and connected fencing, erected by the owners of a 235-acre parcel of land within the historic demesne of Castletown House in Celbridge, are blocking public vehicular access to the house and grounds via a road known as Gay's Avenue. The committee is seeking an order requiring the owners to remove the gates and fencing, on the grounds that planning permission was not obtained for their erection. According to court documents, Save Castletown Committee was established in September 2023 after the Office of Public Works did not acquire the 235-acre parcel of land. READ MORE It was instead acquired by a group of related companies, the respondents in the action: Celio Properties Ltd, Kilross Properties Ltd, Liffey Bridge Homes Ltd and Springwood Properties Ltd. The privately owned parcel makes up part of the Castletown House demesne, while the State-owned part of the includes the grounds on which the house itself is built. On Monday, Save Castletown Committee's counsel John Rogers SC, appearing with Peter Leonard BL and instructed by FP Logue solicitors, said his side were looking for 'some priority' in seeking a hearing date. Appearing for respondent parties, Michael O'Donnell BL said Kildare County Council considers the erected gates to be an exempted development. Mr Justice Richard Humphreys listed the case for an expedited hearing date, set for late July. In a sworn statement, Fintan Monaghan, chairperson of Save Castletown Committee, says that the public has previously 'enjoyed habitual access' to Castletown House via Gay's Avenue. It connects an access point to the house to the northern entrance to the historic demesne, which is close to the M4 motorway. The erection of the gates and fencing has blocked all public vehicular access to the house and demesne grounds, Mr Monaghan claims. 'The lack of vehicular access has significantly limited the ability of the public to habitually access this recreational and tourist amenity,' he says. Mr Monaghan says that the ongoing blocking of access to Castletown House at Gay's Avenue is having a 'severe impact' on the local community. He claims the gates obstruct the primary route from the M4 motorway to the demesne, and could potentially delay emergency medical services from reaching the northside of the demesne, or accessing the demesne via the M4 in a timely manner. The gates could also impact tourism and recreation at Castletown House, Mr Monaghan says, and threaten the financial viability of the house. This could have a knock-on effect on local business, he says. Mr Monaghan says his group's purpose is to promote public access to the Castletown House estate, and the reunification of the historic demesne lands. '[Save Castletown House] believes that Castletown lands are of vital historical, cultural, and ecological significance for the community of Celbridge and Leixlip, and therefore considers that they should be in State ownership for the use and benefit of the people of the area and for the State as a whole,' he says.
BreakingNews.ie
12-05-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Legal challenge over alleged unauthorised gates blocking access to Castletown House
A community group has claimed in the High Court that a set of gates allegedly blocking public access to a period house and its estate in Co Kildare is an unauthorised development. Save Castletown Committee CLG claim the gates and connected fencing, erected by the owners of a 235-acre parcel of land within the historic demesne of Castletown House in Celbridge, are blocking public vehicular to the house and grounds via a road known as Gay's Avenue. Advertisement The committee is seeking an order requiring the owners to remove the gates and fencing, on the grounds that planning permission was not obtained for their erection. According to court documents, Save Castletown Committee was established in September 2023 after the Office of Public Works did not acquire the 235-acres parcel of land within the historic demesne of Castletown House. The land was instead acquired by a group of related companies, the respondents in the action: Celio Properties Ltd, Kilross Properties Ltd, Liffey Bridge Homes Ltd and Springwood Properties Ltd. The 235-acre, privately-owned parcel makes up part of the historic demesne of Castletown House. The State-owned part of the historic demesne includes the grounds on which the house itself is built on. Advertisement On Monday, Save Castletown Committee's counsel John Rogers SC, appearing with Peter Leonard BL and instructed by FP Logue solicitors, said his side were looking for 'some priority' in seeking a hearing date. Appearing for respondent parties, Michael O'Donnell BL said Kildare County Council considers the erected gates to be an exempted development. Mr Justice Richard Humphreys listed the case for an expedited hearing date, set for late July. In a sworn statement, Fintan Monaghan, chairperson of Save Castletown Committee, says that the public has previously 'enjoyed habitual access' to Castletown House via Gay's Avenue. Gay's Avenue connects an access point to the house to the northern entrance to the historic demesne, which is close to the M4 motorway. Advertisement The erection of the gates and fencing has blocked all public vehicular access to the house and demesne grounds, Mr Monaghan claims. 'The lack of vehicular access has significantly limited the ability of the public to habitually access this recreational and tourist amenity,' he says. Mr Monaghan says that the ongoing blocking of access to Castletown House at Gay's Avenue is having a 'severe impact' on the local community. Ireland Environmental group brings court challenge against... Read More He claims the gates obstruct the primary route from the M4 motorway to the demesne, and could potentially delay emergency medical services from reaching the northside of the demesne, or access the demesne via the M4 in a timely manner. Advertisement The gates could also impact tourism and recreation at Castletown House, Mr Monaghan says, and threaten the financial viability of the house. This could have a knock on effect on local business, he says. Mr Monaghan says his group's purpose is to promote public access to the Castletown House estate, and the reunification of the historic demesne lands. '[Save Castletown House] believes that Castletown lands are of vital historical, cultural, and ecological significance for the community of Celbridge and Leixlip, and therefore considers that they should be in State ownership for the use and benefit of the people of the area and for the State as a whole,' he says.
