Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 June 2023
278. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if he is satisfied that the proposed development of the lands immediately surrounding Castletown House will not impact negatively on the structure and its historical, aesthetic, architectural and cultural integrity; if he will publish the expert basis for that satisfaction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29679/23]
View answer279. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the reason the State did not purchase the lands adjoining Castletown House; if the purchase was ever a consideration; if so, the reason it was not concluded by and for the State; if he will publish the reasons for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29680/23]
View answer280. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if the State has conducted an environmental and wildlife assessment of development of the lands adjoining Castletown House; if so, if he will publish the results of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29681/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 278 to 280, inclusive, together.
Castletown House is an eighteenth-century neo-Palladian country house built within an extensive estate. Numbers using the estate have increased greatly since the OPW took over the estate and now stand at over one million visitors to the estate each year.
In 1994, the Office of Public Works took responsibility for Castletown House and estate. Initially, this was only 13 acres of land with the house. It has long been the policy of the OPW to seek to reunite the historic Castletown estate. In 1997, one hundred acres south of the house was acquired. The farmyard adjacent to the house was acquired in 2001. In 2006, lands associated with the Batty Lodge were acquired with former Coillte lands to the north and east of the House acquired in 2007. Since 2008, the OPW has reassembled 227 acres of the original 580 acres of land which formed the historic demesne.
Much of the original demesne lands acquired over the years were in poor condition. The OPW has worked to open up the lands and to restore many of the landscape features, particularly the historic network of pathways across the estate and the vista towards Connolly's Folly. Work is ongoing on the opening up to the public of the Crodaun Woods.
The restoration of the historic pathways began in 2007. There has also been a concerted effort to manage the Estate for biodiversity. The landscape by the Office of Public works are an exemplar site for the All Ireland Pollinator Plan with some grasslands of Annex 1 quality under the EU Habitats Directive. Extensive pollinator surveys have been conducted which have identified a large number of bumblebee, butterfly, hoverfly, and solitary bee species. Other studies have recorded a high diversity of tree, bird, and other invertebrate species. The landscape is of high value to grassland plants regionally due to the increasingly urban nature of the surrounding landscape.
In 2007, the Office of Public Works worked with the owner of the adjacent lands to develop an entrance and carpark from the M4 slipway. This removed traffic from the environs of the house. The land encompassing the new access and car park were retained in private ownership and were used under licence, by the OPW, from the landowner, Janus Securities.
As part of the policy to seek to reunite the historic Castletown demesne lands with the house and lands in the care of the State, the OPW has sought on several occasions to purchase the lands from Janus Securities including when the lands were offered for sale on the open market in 2022. However, despite the very best efforts of the OPW, the State was out-bid in the open market process and ultimately, the lands were acquired by a private purchaser.
The OPW has not been provided with any details of the proposed development of these lands. Therefore, it is not possible to assess any potential impact, negative or positive, on the Castletown House and its historical, aesthetic, architectural and cultural integrity. If there is to be any future proposed development, it will be subject to the full planning processes and local planning regulations. In this context, the owners will have to comply with all of the relevant environmental impact assessment requirements pursuant to the type of development proposed.
While the OPW would be concerned in relation to any potential development on lands adjacent to Castletown House and indeed is concerned with how they continue to be managed in the interim, it does not have any role in overseeing the management of these lands which are in private ownership. As such, the OPW would have no rights or basis on which to conduct any environmental assessment of these lands.
It should be noted that the lands managed by the Office of Public Works remain open for full access to the public.
