Dún Laoghaire golf club site to be torn down

DEMOLITION OF the old Dún Laoghaire Golf Club pavilion, which dates from 1910, has been approved as part of the next phase of…

DEMOLITION OF the old Dún Laoghaire Golf Club pavilion, which dates from 1910, has been approved as part of the next phase of housing development on the former course.

An Bord Pleanála has given consent to the plan, officially known as Phase II B, to Cosgrave developments for some 55,201sq m of housing, comprising about 384 new homes.

Work is already under way on much of the former golf course, which was bisected by the Glenageary Road. Close to 1,500 homes are planned for the 78-acre site. Also included are offices, retail units, as well as an eight-acre park with a lake.

Cosgrave Developments bought the golf club site for €20 million, plus a 27-hole course at Ballyman Glen near Enniskerry, from the club’s members in 2002.

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Development of Phase II B refers to the northern portion of the old course on the northern side of Glenageary road. It is overlooked by Victorian houses on Eglinton Park and White Lodge, the Turkish consulate. To the northeast, the original demesne house Lodge Park is still standing and occupied.

Planning permission has already been granted for 605 new homes on Phase II A, another parcel of the former golf course beside the current site. However, this is subject to a judicial review.

The recent decision in relation to Phase II B was appealed by local resident John Ross of Highthorn Wood, as well as Cosgrave developments itself, which took issue with some €8 million charged by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council in levies and a bond.

The club dates from 1909, when 51 residents of Kingstown and the surrounding district gathered in the Royal Marine Hotel on December 9th to attend the inaugural meeting of the golf club.

Tim O'Brien

Tim O'Brien

Tim O'Brien is an Irish Times journalist