Land sale may open way for wind developments
By Brendan Grehan
THE POSSIBILITY of a wind-farm development along the Dublin-Wicklow border could be re-opened with the pending sale of 4,900 acres (1,983 hectares).
The land is part of the distressed assets held by the late Liam Maye, one of the developers of Dundrum Town Centre.The sale is being handled by agents CBRE on behalf of Nama.
The guide price is in the region of €2.5 million.
The land is predominantly undeveloped and classified as moorland and mountain land, though there are some small plots in low-lying areas at the bottom of the Glenasmole Valley. The highest point is at Kippure Mountain and the overall land bank within seven different townlands includes three watercourses which flow into the Bohernabreena Reservoirs.
Local farmer Donie Anderson told The Echo that farmers in the area have held grazing and turbary rights on some of the land for some time.
He said: “Part of this land is commonage on which farmers have had grazing and turbary rights for many years. Those rights cannot be taken away. The land is owned by somebody else, but I’m not sure what they can do with it.”
CBRE accepts that the development potential is “very limited” on the Glenasmole lands and is confined to 39.5 acres in the lower regions. It also suggests that 178 acres in the upper lands have “some development potential” but stresses this would be of limited use and subject to the strict planning guidelines of South Dublin County Council.
In a planning appraisal on the land bank going for sale, Hughes Planning & Development Consultants have advised that lands which fell within the Wicklow Mountains Special Area of Conservation and which were above a contour of 350 metres had no effective development potential.
This would include any prospective wind energy development as a result of likely visual impacts on the area. The study estimated that more than 93 per cent of the total land holding fell within this category.
The Hughes report also suggested another 72 hectares at Piperstown outside the Special Area of Conservation, but above the 350 metres contour may have potential for future wind energy development but would be subject to Environmental Impact Assessment.
