A substantial site zoned for a high-density residential development on the outskirts of Navan goes for sale today through agent CBRE at a guide price of €5,950,000.

The 20.6 hectares (51 acres) of Blackcastle lands on the Slane Road was designated as the Clonmagadden Valley strategic development zone (SDZ) before the property crash when Navan was expanding rapidly as a commuter town.

The land is now to be sold by a receiver, Tom O'Brien of Mazars.

Rail link

Plans by the last Fianna Fáil government to provide a direct rail link between Navan and Dublin to facilitate commuters were abandoned when the service reached Dunboyne. CIÉ continues to run more than 40 buses a day to the city alongside services operated by a range of private bus operators.

Although the SDZ zoning provides for the development of up to 1,400 residential units – many of them apartments – on the Navan land once a town centre is in place, Robert Colleran of CBRE says there may be potential to amend the SDZ planning conditions to allow for a low-density residential scheme by creating a village centre on the lands.

“We feel that a revised SDZ would be of strong interest to a developer looking to build a large housing development,” he said.

Successfully amended

He said he understood that planners had successfully amended the SDZ planning on Clongriffin in Dublin to allow for a lower-density residential use of the lands. He also understood that a similar SDZ amendment may be implemented in Cherrywood in Dublin, subject to planning permission.

Kevin Hughes of Hughes Planning & Development Consultants, an adviser on the Navan project, said the SDZ lands represented an opportunity to “replan the area to quickly deliver a high-quality residential area in Navan to meet the urgent housing needs of the county town and principal settlement of county Meath”.