An Athlone businessman who bought a Dublin park for less than €11,000 last year is to learn today whether he will be forced to sell the land to Dublin City Council.
An Bord Pleanála is due to decide today if it will allow the council to compulsorily purchase Dartmouth Square Park in Ranelagh from Noel O'Gara, of Ballinahowen, Athlone.
Mr O'Gara has contested the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) and told a planning hearing in July that the council is attempting to undermine his constitutional rights to his property.
He said he intends to use the land as a car park and earlier this month offered all-day parking in the park for €10, but was stopped from running the car park by a High Court injunction.
The park came to public attention last January when local residents, who believed it was a public park, found that the gates had been padlocked. At the same time, the city council received a letter from Mr O'Gara claiming that he owned the freehold.
Residents removed the chains from the gates, but these were replaced by Mr O'Gara within days. The council subsequently reopened the park and entered into negotiations with Mr O'Gara on making the space available to the public again. These talks were unsuccessful and the council elected last February to place a CPO on the land.
Mr O'Gara bought the park last December from PJ Darley, whose family originally developed the area in the 1880s.
The council had offered to buy the land from Mr Darley in 1987 for £8,500 (€10,800), but the deal was never completed and the council instead entered into a lease agreement which lapsed in 1997. Mr O'Gara said he paid less than the council's offer for the land, but he believes it is worth €175 million.The injunction awarded to the council to stop Mr O'Gara parking cars in the park will be reviewed by the High Court on October 9th.
