DEVELOPMENT LAND:With a residential zoning, the 3.29 acres may be bought by a consortium of businessmen planning to build large homes for themselves as well as for sale

THE OFFICE OF Public Works is to offload the last remaining parcel of land which formed part of the UCD veterinary farm at Rathmichael, Co Dublin.

Ross Shorten of Lisney is handling the sale of the 1.33 hectares (3.29 acres) which back on to the M11 at Ballybride Road.

Although no price is being quoted for the land, the expectation is that it should make in the region of €4.5 million. An interesting selling point is that whoever buys it at tender on May 1st will not have to pay the customary 9 per cent stamp duty because it is owned by the State.

The site adjoins low density housing in an area zoned residential Objective A "to protect and/or improve residential amenity" under the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Co Council development plan. Another objective of the plan is to preserve views from the motorway looking westwards.

The site is exceptionally well located with 170 metres of frontage directly onto the motorway. While it will obviously be of interest to developers not unduly overstretched by borrowings, one possibility is that it could be bought by a consortium of businessmen planning to build large homes for themselves as well as for sale.

More than 50 years ago many wealthy Dublin business and professional people moved out to Rathmichael where they built extensive homes on plots of 5 acres and more. These are to be found in areas such as Ballybride Road, Ferndale Road, Falls Road and Ballycorus Road.

The UCD veterinary farm was broken up about 14 years ago following the acquisition of much of it by Dublin County Council for the then south-east motorway (M50) and the Shankill bypass (M11). The site is convenient to Shankill village and the Luas extension to Cherrywood which is under construction. There are also plans to extend the Luas to Fassaroe via Shankill.