An Athlone businessman, whose land in the centre of Dartmouth Square in Dublin is being compulsorily purchased by Dublin City Council, is to appear before the High Court today.
Noel O'Gara wants to use Dartmouth Square park in Ranelagh as a car park and is seeking to challenge the planning laws the council is using to prevent him from so doing.
Last month, Mr O'Gara lost his Bord Pleanála appeal against the council's decision to use a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) to acquire the park. Mr O'Gara, who bought the park last year for less than €11,000, said he intends to take a legal challenge to the CPO on the basis that it is unconstitutional.
His High Court case today is being mounted on the same basis. Mr O'Gara claims that he has a constitutional right to bring cars on to his land.
"The planning laws being used by the council are unconstitutional and repugnant to the constitution of this land," he told The Irish Times yesterday.
The council has made no offer to Mr O'Gara for the park since the CPO was confirmed on September 25th last, he said. He is seeking €175 million for the land, which he said is its market value. However, he does not believe the council intends to offer this sum.
A spokeswoman for the council said the value of the park was being determined by the city valuer.
Last January, local residents, who believed the park was a public amenity, 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.
