Order to prevent Dartmouth car park is extended

The High Court has extended a temporary order to prevent a park in the middle of Dartmouth Square, south Dublin, from being used as a public car park.

The court yesterday granted Dublin City Council an extension to a temporary order granted last week restraining Noel O'Gara and a company, Marble and Granite Tiles Ltd, the registered owner of the park in Ranelagh, from parking more than two vehicles in it.

The week-long extension was given to allow time for the council to reach an agreement with Mr O'Gara.

The council had already applied to buy the park from Mr O'Gara through compulsory purchase order (CPO). An Bord Pleanála is considering the application.

Last week Mr O'Gara attempted to open the square as a commercial car park, offering spaces to motorists for €10 per day. However, following a protest and blockade by local residents, the council was granted a temporary order preventing him from doing so.

After yesterday's hearing Mr O'Gara said he was willing to negotiate with the council and would be looking for €175 million for the park. He said Dalymount Park had sold for €65 million, and was not in as good a location as Dartmouth Square.

"If they don't want to buy it they can take back their CPO and I will develop a creche and an underground car park on my land for the good of the whole city."

Local Fianna Fáil activist Chris Andrews said there was little reason to believe that Mr O'Gara would settle with the council.

"Dublin City Council is solely responsible for this terrible debacle," he said. "Through inertia over several years it allowed ownership to slip into the hands of Mr O'Gara, to the detriment of the community."

He said he would be seeking a meeting with Minister for the Environment and Local Government Dick Roche with a view to setting up a taskforce to examine the issue of ownership of public open spaces.

Meanwhile, residents in and around Dartmouth Square criticised hand-delivered letters from local representative and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell putting a commercial value of €100 million on the park.

Although the figure was later explained away as a typing error, and should have read €1 million, Mr McDowell still came in for criticism.

Kevin Nowlan, chairman of the Dartmouth Square Residents' Association, said it was not proper for the Minister to put any figure on the value of the land as it only encouraged Mr O'Gara.

"The whole affair is before An Bord Pleanála; even putting a figure of €1 million is wrong," he said. "In my mind it seems very strange to put any figure on it at all."