Dundrum strip to net church €3m

AroundtheBlock: Is there nothing sacred in this town? We only ask because we hear that the parish council in Dundrum is about to sell a valuable piece of land behind the main street church to Castlethorn Developments who have already transformed the village with their massive town centre.

The Catholic parish is in line to get €3 million for a tiny strip of land behind the church which had almost been forgotten about. The real benefit for the church is not the money, but the fact that Castlethorn is to make off-street parking available for church-goers on the old shopping centre site close by. The church land will be part of a public plaza to link the new town centre to the original shopping centre which is to be redeveloped on a massive scale. Who said that shopping isn't the new religion?

Bidding for the Burlo

All the usual suspects will line up to buy the site of the Burlington Hotel - the best site to hit the market since Jury's Doyle off-loaded their Ballsbridge hotels. Watch out for Sean Dunne, Joe O'Reilly, Derek Quinlan, Ray Grehan, Bernard McNamara, Paddy Shovlin and John Lally - or a combination of the above with, say, Anglo Irish, Ulster Bank, Davys, Warren, BDO, etc etc. The initial speculation is that the site will go for between €250 million and €300 million based on the price of €100 million paid two weeks ago for the 1.5-acre site and dated office block sold by Allianz which is beside the Burlo. The redevelopment is likely to be used for a big mix of shops, offices and apartments, and possibly even a boutique hotel, though the same vendors placed a restriction on the Jurys site, attempting to block a replacement hotel by Sean Dunne. With the Mespil flats getting ever more tired on the adjoining site, there is clearly scope for a new owner to take a helicopter view of the immediate neighbourhood, though can we ever forget what happened the last time the Mespil flats went for sale, when old ladies were threatened with eviction by some of the new owners.

Shadowing comes out

It's not just big developers who get the lash from An Bord Pleanála - Dublin 4's tennis players are also feeling the pain this week having had their application for a new clubhouse turned down by the board. Dublin City Council had naturally granted permission for the upgrading but, to the surprise of everyone, the board inspector based his refusal on a bizarre formula involving shadow forecasts over three adjoining gardens at Londonbridge Road. To ground its refusal, the board relied on findings by the British Research Establishment (BRE) which has some expertise on the issue of planning for daylight and sunlight. The BRE recommends that no more than two-fifths of any garden should be deprived of sunlight on March 21st - presumably the spring solstice. Accordingly the board, whose inspector visited the site on November 1st and used shadow diagrams as a back up, has concluded that the houses would suffer "a serious loss of amenity" even if part of the clubhouse building was painted white. Not surprisingly, the members almost choked on their G&Ts when they got the news about the reasons for the refusal. Could this set a precedent for others planning to enlarge their properties? The BRE could yet become a major force in the Dublin property market.

Easy-fit extensions

Shomera, the people who gave us little houses for the end of our garden in which to work, play or accommodate the nanny, are taking on the builders once more with their newest bright idea - ready-made extensions. With 5,000 planning applications for house extensions in Dublin last year and an estimated 30 per cent of SSIAs being spent on home improvements, the demand for home extensions in 2007 is expected to soar. According to Shomera's MD Frank O'Sullivan, the company has been inundated with requests for extensions and now they are ready to oblige. The Shomera Extension is constructed off-site - anyone who has lived through brickies' tea breaks in their livingroom will appreciate that - with installation taking place over just a few days. Prices will start at around €28,500 for a 10ft by 12ft box. Head for Shomera in Dunshaghlin for extensions galore.