Court bars road to link housing estates

A building firm secured a High Court order preventing construction of a road linking a proposed £160 million housing development…

A building firm secured a High Court order preventing construction of a road linking a proposed £160 million housing development at Celbridge, Co Kildare with a road on its lands.

McGee Celbridge Ltd, with registered offices at Upper George's Street, Dun Laoghaire, was yesterday granted an interlocutory injunction by the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Morris, against Portinscale Ltd, with registered offices on the Isle of Man, and Liffey Developments Ltd, with registered offices at Naas Road, Dublin.

The injunction, which will continue until the trial of the action, restrains Portinscale and Liffey Developments from trespassing on McGee property at Aghards, Co Kildare.

Mr James O'Reilly SC, for the McGee company, said his client had built houses at Willbrook Lawns and Vanessa Lawns, Celbridge in the early 1980s. The road had not been taken in charge by the county council.

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Mr Joseph Finnegan SC, for Portinscale and Liffey Developments, claimed that the public had a right of way across the McGee lands.

McGee's situation had to be balanced against the huge losses being suffered by his client of about £40,000 per week since October 30th last.

In his judgment, Mr Justice Morris said he was satisfied that Portinscale and Liffey Development had sought to negotiate for the strip of land. Those negotiations failed in July last.

On October 24th the developers presumed to assert what they perceived to be their rights in demolishing a three-metre wall of clay to make their way on to what the McGee company claimed was its lands. He was satisfied that the issue to be tried was the status of the McGee roadway.

Mr Justice Morris said the developers claimed they were suffering enormous losses and there was no commercial loss to the McGee company which, it was alleged, merely sat on the strip of land to no commercial advantage.

The judge said he did not see it that way. The McGee company was in a unique position in that it owned what had been described as the "ransom strip" and could bargain from a position of strength.