Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links: A Line In The Sand
Another controversial planning decision in North County Dublin could become an issue in the forthcoming
by-election. By John Mulligan
Serious questions remain to be answered about the planning process that allowed 16 acres of public land to be used for a private development in north County Dublin—the Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links—and the role played by such politicians as Fianna Fáil councillor Michael Kennedy, who is contesting the Dublin North by-election this month.
The course was designed by the German golfer Bernhard Langer, and the four-star hotel, where Mary McAleese stayed the night before her presidential inauguration, boasts 102 rooms.
The hotel's radio and newspaper advertisements proudly proclaim that “nothing is overlooked but the sea,” and one golf architect stated: “When God was making the world, he laid out the dunes so that one day a great golf links would be sited here.” But the development of the golf course and hotel, which was completed in 1995, whether divinely inspired or not, has been dogged by controversy.
Much of the land on which the golf course is now built once belonged to two brothers, John and Ignatius Byrne, who used the land just behind the sand dunes as winter pasture for their cattle. Although privately owned, locals and visitors enjoyed free access over the 157 acres for decades. The loss of these “rights of way” became a contentious issue as the golf-course development proceeded.
Ignatius Byrne applied for, and was refused, planning permission in 1980 for the development of houses on a portion of the land. In the notice of refusal by Dublin County Council (DCC), the county manager said the proposed development was located within an area that is zoned in the County Development Plan with the objective of preserving and improving coastside amenities and therefore “contrary to the proper planning and development of the area.” The manager also said that the development area would be on land affected by the county council's compulsory-purchase order (CPO) for the purpose of improving coastal amenity. The land was never bought by the council despite the CPO on it.
On appeal, Byrne was granted permission to build hotels, theatres or similar structures, instead of housing, to save the council from having to pay the almost £2.5 million that Byrne was seeking in compensation for the loss of the land's development.
That permission stood until 1989, when the 157 acres were purchased by Mark McCormack's International Management Group (IMG), for probably around the figure that Byrne had been seeking in compensation, although this was never publicly disclosed.
Planning permission was sought that year by town-planning consultants Kiaran O'Malley & Company on behalf of IMG (Portmarnock) Ltd for a hotel and golf course (although no planning permission was required for golf courses until 1995). The hotel was to consist of 178 bedrooms, and there were to be other ancillary facilities, such as a driving range.
The application was eventually granted, subject to 24 stringent conditions, even though it had been appealed by local people and An Taisce.
The DCC's Parks Department also objected in a letter to the council in August 1989. The senior parks superintendent, David Keating, said: “The Parks Department is opposed to the proposed development and strongly recommends refusal of the application.”
He said that the development conflicted with the objectives of the 1983 County Development Plan, that a golf course would place restrictions on access to the beach; that the dunes and rare plant species would be threatened; and that the proposal would exclude the general public from an area to which they had traditionally enjoyed access. The council ignored this objection.
The Portmarnock Community Association (PCA) also initially objected to the development. However, in October 1989, a legally binding agreement was signed between IMG's solicitors—Overend, McCarron and Gibbons—and the PCA's solicitor, James Mackey. This stated IMG's intention to build a community centre in the village provided the PCA did not object at any time to the proposed development and that existing objections be dropped. The centre would only be built if planning permission was received. The PCA was also required to publicly endorse the proposed development if required and to use its influence to persuade all parties who might raise objections not to do so. James Mackey then wrote to Michael Kennedy, who was a member of the PCA, to inform him of the agreement. Kennedy was elected a Fianna Fáil councillor in 1991. People living in Portmarnock then and now would question the PCA's assertion that it reflects the interests of the majority of the community.
Despite obtaining the PCA's approval, IMG still had problems. The layout of the proposed golf course was running in an east-west direction rather than a preferred north-south one. Tee boxes would have to serve more than one hole and the course would appear cramped. In 1992, construction had still not begun, and, looking at the options, a plan emerged that would overcome these problems.
The plan was to obtain 16 acres of publicly owned land surrounding the Country Club Hotel, which adjoined IMG's land. The Country Club Hotel is owned by Natworth Ltd, with directors Brendan Gilmore and Michael Holland. Gilmore is financial advisor to Tony O'Reilly, and Holland has extensive property interests. IMG and the Country Club Hotel issued a joint proposal to the council seeking a land-swap. They wanted the 16 acres of public land and, in return, would give the council ownership of land between the high-tide mark and IMG's property along the dunes, and a small portion of land to the north of the Country Club. They would also throw in £172,000 for good measure so that the council could build two car-parks and picnic facilities at either end of the beach.
The council had gone to some lengths in the 1980s to obtain these 16 acres for the public from the previous owner of the Country Club Hotel, Harry Waterman. He received a parcel of land in Donabate, just up the coast, where he later built houses, in return for handing the 16 acres over to the council. Now, DCC was open to the IMG/Country Club Hotel proposal to hand it back into private ownership.
A public meeting organised by the PCA was held in April 1992 to discuss the land-swap. About 400 people attended, along with such politicians as Ray Burke, Michael Kennedy, Sean Ryan, and Trevor Sargent. IMG's solicitor from Overend, McCarron and Gibbon was also present. After much debate, a vote was taken on the land-swap, and a majority voted in favour. Those present were told that they were “getting their dunes back” and also ensuring the creation of jobs in the hotel that IMG would soon build.
However, some of those voting were not even from Portmarnock, and others from local cumanns, who had little idea beforehand what the meeting was actually about, had been “instructed” to attend.
Brendan Gilmore wrote to Trevor Sargent in May 1992 seeking his support for the land-swap and said: “It will provide a great number of additional jobs in the Portmarnock and surrounding areas resulting from the building/expansion of hotels in the area.”
The Portmarnock Action Committee (PAC) was formed at this time by three local women who wanted the council-owned land under threat to remain in public hands. Despite many protest marches over the dunes and more than 2,000 signatures collected locally against the land-swap, the deal went ahead on May 18, 1992, following a DCC vote.
Six Fianna Fáil councillors (Michael Kennedy, G. V. Wright, Sean Gilbride, Ned Ryan, Jack Larkin and April Gallagher) three Fine Gael (Nora Owen, Ann Devitt and Tom Morrisey), one Progressive Democrat (Sheila Terry) and one independent (Sean Lyons) voted in favour of the swap.
Three Labour councillors (Sean Ryan, Bernie Malone and Ken Farrell), one Fine Gael (Joan Maher), two Green Party (Trevor Sargent and David Healy) and one independent (Joe Higgins) voted against the swap.
The outcome of that vote was seen in Portmarnock as a betrayal of trust.
In early 1993 a planning application was made by Natworth Ltd to expand the Country Club Hotel from less than 20 bedrooms to 102—an extraordinary vote of confidence in the small local economy, especially when IMG had promised to build a new hotel just down the road. Permission was granted and subsequently appealed by the PAC on the grounds that the extension would extinguish a right of way. The appeal was denied, but construction didn't commence for more than 18 months.
IMG submitted a new planning application in October 1993 for their hotel and golf course, which availed of the land acquired in the land-swap. To help them on their way, Bord Fáilte gave them a grant of £500,000, courtesy of EU regional funding.
This was appealed in early 1994 by the PAC. They stated that an environmental-impact statement (EIS) should have been carried out by IMG according to EU and local-government regulations, as IMG were working to new plans. Work had already commenced on the golf course, and a six-foot-high fence had been erected on the dunes along the length of the development. IMG said this was a “temporary” fence for the duration of construction only, and it did not have planning permission. An Bord Pleanála refused IMG's new application, agreeing that an EIS should have been conducted and instructing IMG to do this before seeking new planning permission.
It was in 1994 that Colombia Investments, owned by Brendan Gilmore's acquaintance Tony O'Reilly, bought into the IMG development.
The EIS was carried out on an area that was dramatically altered by earth-moving equipment and was therefore a relatively pointless exercise. To make matters worse, work continued on the course while the survey was being undertaken. A wildlife expert retained by IMG while the EIS was being conducted said the company had been told it was coming to a banana republic when it decided to build a golf course in Ireland. The results were published in September 1994, and a new application was submitted by IMG for retention of the course. As DCC had been split into three separate entities by now, Fingal County Council (FCC) decided to grant permission for retention of the course subject to conditions, some of which IMG appealed.
One condition was that, within six months of completion of the course, the boundary fence would be moved so as not to intrude on the skyline, and it would be removed two years after the granting of permission. The condition was subsequently amended to say the fence could be retained after two years if planning permission was obtained for it. The fence is still there today—with no planning permission—and is causing serious erosion on the sand dunes. The council has finally instigated legal proceedings against IMG, but only after being lobbied by the PAC to do so. The council also took on responsibility for erosion-protection work on the dunes, which could cost between £200,000 and £750,000 and ultimately only benefits IMG's property.
In November 1994, the PAC appealed the decision to grant planning permission. At an oral hearing held by An Bord Pleanála in April 1995, the PAC addressed a number of issues, such as erosion and the need to protect rare plant species. They were supported in their submissions with reports by Eanna Ní Lamhna and Dr Conor Skehan. Michael Kennedy, the developers and members of the PAC sat together at the hearing. An Taisce and the OPW also opposed the granting of retention. An Bord Pleanála rejected the appeal, but attached 16 conditions.
Work then commenced on the extension to the Country Club Hotel, and it is now the clubhouse for the golfers using the course, having been renamed the Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links. The hotel that IMG so eagerly promoted has never materialised. IMG recently approached the council with a view to constructing apartments where their hotel was to be sited. The community centre promised by IMG was never built, despite the efforts of the PAC and the legal document signed between the association and IMG.
They had been leased an old church site in the village, but this is now the subject of a compulsory-purchase order for local-authority housing.
Many questions about the roles and duties of various departments need to be urgently addressed, not least of which is what locals should make of sources that admit that some political parties received more than just a slap on the back for their promotion of IMG's development.
At the time of going to press Michael Kennedy had not answered any questions which were put to him. After numerous attempts to contact him by telephone and a visit to his home, questions were faxed to the Fianna F·il office in Swords following a brief discussion with him at Dublin Airport, where he officially launched his election campaign. No replies were received to those questions before Magill went to print.