Palmerstown apartment scheme ‘jeopardised’ by right-of-way dispute

The developers of an €85 million 250-unit build-to-rent apartment complex alongside the N4 in Palmerstown, Dublin, have claimed the project is being jeopardised by a dispute over a right-of-way.

Randelswood Holdings Ltd, whose development company is building the “Palmerstown Gate” apartments on the former site of the Vincent Byrne building supplies business, applied on Monday to have the dispute with a company, Palmerstown RPM Company No 2, dealt with by the fast track Commercial Court.

Mr Justice Denis McDonald, on consent of the parties, admitted the case to the list, saying it was clearly a commercial matter of some urgency.

Last July, Palmerstown RPM brought High Court proceedings seeking to prohibit Randelswood using the access route through the business park.

Mary McGrath, director of Randelswood, said in an affidavit, the dispute relates to an access route through common areas in the adjoining Palmerstown Business Park. This is one of two access routes for both building work and for when the development is completed.

Issues

One of the central issues for the court is the meaning of the terms of a right-of-way conferred in agreements between previous owners and purchasers, she said.

It is not in dispute that Randelswood has the benefit of right-of-way over the access route through the business park, she said. However Palmerstown RPM asserts that it is limited to a certain point.

Ms McGrath says her company has already invested substantial sums in the development and, until the secondary access issue is determined, the entire project is likely to be seriously jeopardised. It may be impossible to market or sell any of the units in the development or sell it in its entirety, she said.

The proceedings taken last July by Palmerstown RPM led to a settlement between the parties in which it was agreed, among other things, to apply to have the matter dealt with in the Commercial Court.

The case comes back in February.