A 30-acre housing site beside Portmarnock railway station in north Dublin is to be sold by tender on June 8th. DTZ Sherry FitzGerald expects to secure in excess of £15 million for the land at Drumnigh Road, which has been zoned for a residential scheme since 1993.

Although at least 40 acres to the south and west of the site has a similar zoning none of it has been developed because of the long delay in providing sewerage services. However, Fingal County Council has now invited tenders for the construction of a new sewerage main, which is due to be completed by April, 2002. The delay in extending both sewerage and water services in north Dublin has greatly restricted house building in the area in recent years. When the Drumnigh land was rezoned in 1993, it was done on the basis of only one house per acre. Last year's revised development plan increased the density to five houses per acre but once the sewerage system is in place - there is already a water main a short distance away - a more comprehensive development is likely to be approved.

Even more significantly, a restricted DART rail service is due to be extended to the Portmarnock station next September, with a full schedule planned for next year, as part of the new Malahide service.

Peter Lynch of the selling agents says that once the DART is functioning, developers could expect to secure permission for a particularly high housing density. Government guidelines had recommended these densities on sites adjacent to transport hubs. He said the Portmarnock lands were a prime example where high-density development should be permitted in the light of these guidelines. DTZ Sherry FitzGerald estimate that four to five-bedroom houses on one-sixth of an acre in the Portmarnock area are selling for between £375,000 and £500,000. Alternatively, the land would be equally suited to a high-density scheme of apartments and townhouses.

Meanwhile, a site with planning permission for 36 apartments on the edge of Swords in north Dublin is likely to fetch around £1.75 million when it is auctioned by Hamilton Osborne King on May 25th. That price would equate to £48,600 per unit.

The site has been owned for a number of years by Maxol, which failed to get permission for a petrol service station there. The planning permission provides for 36 one and two-bedroom apartments in a three-storey block over a basement park for 37 cars. The larger apartments will have dual aspect and all the units will have either balconies or winter gardens.

The site is prominently located with frontage to the Dublin road just off the first roundabout in Swords. The area is undergoing rapid change and will have a new town centre later this year.

While there has been a large number of housing developments in the Swords area in recent years, there have been relatively few apartment schemes.