Legal wrangling continues on open space at The Dunes
Wednesday September 30 2009
LEGAL wrangling is continuing between the council and a resident of Dunes estate in Portmarnock over the ownership of a narrow strip of open space.
The resident claims he has been maintaining the open space and has claimed ownership of the piece of land by filing a claim with the Property Registration Authority. The council lodged an official objection to that claim with the same authority and is gathering supporting documentation for its case which it says is still with the local authority's law department.
According to a council report on the issue in response to a motion laid down by Cllr Peter Coyle at a meeting of the Malahide/Howth Area Committee, the claim refers to a narrow strip of land beside the resident's home.
This strip and others like it were identified as open space in the planning permission, according to the council who said previously that 'limited maintenance has taken place to the narrow strips of land along the side of the houses'. Kevin Halpenny, senior parks superintendent, told the committee on that same occasion that the council does not discourage people from maintaining grass verges outside their home but did not expect them to pursue adverse possession claims.
Senior
executive officer in the council's corporate affairs section, Stephen Peppard told local councillors before the summer on the committee that it was a complex case but the council intended to mount 'as strong a case as possible' against the claim.
Cllr Coyle raised the issue again last week at the committee and asked for a progress report on the action. The council said that the case was still with the law department and was ongoing.
- John MANNING
