Access to lands owned by Jackson Way Properties Ltd at Carrickmines in south Dublin will not be substantially improved by the provision of a motorway through them, a chartered engineer told a compensation hearing yesterday.
Mr Eamonn Sweetman was giving evidence in support of a €47 million compensation claim being brought by Jackson Way against Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, following its acquisition by compulsory purchase order of 20 acres of the company's lands for the completion of the South Eastern Motorway.
Mr Dermot Flanagan SC, for the council, put it to Mr Sweetman at the hearing in Dún Laoghaire that the only access to Jackson Way lands at present was through a "country boreen" but access for development purposes would be substantially improved when the motorway was provided.
Mr Sweetman disagreed. He said while the motorway would result in two access points to the lands rather than the one point at present, the access roads were still very narrow and for agricultural purposes only.
Jackson Way, a controversial English-based shelf company under investigation by both the Flood tribunal and the Criminal Assets Bureau, owns 109 acres of land at Carrickmines, which will be split in two by the motorway.
A portion of the land is zoned industrial, but most of it is zoned for agricultural use. Jackson Way contends the motorway plans have acted as a barrier to the agricultural lands being zoned for residential purposes.
Architect Mr John Fleming said if the lands were zoned residential, a mixed development of 1,580 units could be built, while at the same time making provision for community facilities and 37 acres of open space.
He said he was confident planning permission could have been achieved for a well-planned residential development on the lands at the time notice of the compulsory purchase order was served in June 2000. The lands are located 200 metres from a proposed Luas line.
The hearing continues today.