Residents' fears for unfinished estate as company goes into receivership

RESIDENTS OF a Manor Park Homes development fear that unfinished work on the estate will not now be completed as the company has gone into receivership.

Bank of Scotland this week appointed Tom Kavanagh of Kavanagh Fennell as receiver to the company, which owes it €170 million.

Residents of Aston Village, one of two large developments undertaken by Manor Park in Drogheda, say that there are persistent problems with drainage and roads in the estate that have yet to be solved. While the estate was finished in 2004, and Louth County Council was due to take over responsibility for these services four years later, this has yet to happen.

Locals there blame the planning authority for failing to ensure that Manor Park provided adequate bonding to cover the cost of doing the remedial work to deal with these problems.

Drainage is a key concern. One resident said human waste regularly emerges from the drainage system onto his property, and says he frequently has to unblock pipes to stop this happening.

There are also complaints about the condition of the roads in the area and the upkeep of green areas in the estate.

Local councillor Imelda Munster said yesterday the original planning permission stipulated that the company had to provide a €550,000 bond to cover the cost of work on any public services.

However, she said that Louth County Council subsequently only requested a letter of guarantee. This expired in 2007.

Ms Munster argued that it was unlikely that the local authority could now get funding from the company for the work, as it has gone into receivership.

However, Manor Park did provide a cash bond of €440,000 for the adjacent Termon Abbey estate which it also built. The total cost of the work that needs to be carried out in both areas is said to be €200,000.

The receiver has no entitlement to the bond; it was lodged with the council to ensure it would have the cash it needed to complete work on local services in a situation where the company was unable to do so.

A spokesman for the council said the authority does intend to take charge of the estates and is beginning the work required to do this, including carrying out surveys of drains and underground systems.

“There’s no question that it will not be taken in charge,” he said. He added that council officials have arranged to meet Mr Kavanagh early next week.

He also argued that letters of guarantee are regularly accepted by local authorities in place of cash bonds, and pointed out that an An Bord Pleanála decision allows this practice.

Manor Park bought former taoiseach Charles Haughey’s Kinsealy estate in north Dublin in 2003 for €45 million.

The company subsequently received planning permission for a tourist development there, including a hotel and holiday homes.

Kinsealy included Abbeville House, an 18th-century mansion, which was formerly occupied by the Haughey family. Mr Haughey’s widow, Maureen, has moved to a nearby house built by her daughter, Eimear Mulhearn. The estate is currently under the charge of a caretaker.

Joe Moran and his family own Manor Park. The debt due to Bank of Scotland, now owned by Lloyds, is secured against the company’s assets. Company filings show the debt is non-recourse and is not subject to personal guarantees.