Court rules action that has delayed motorway will be heard next month

A legal action by an English property company which has delayed the opening of the South Eastern motorway scheme will be heard…

A legal action by an English property company which has delayed the opening of the South Eastern motorway scheme will be heard on December 13th, the Supreme Court has ruled.

The Chief Justice, Mr Justice Hamilton, said the courts were not responsible for any delays in the hearing of an appeal by Jackson Way Properties Ltd, expected to take two days.

Jackson is appealing a High Court decision last July refusing the company leave to take a judicial review challenge to the decision of the Minister for the Environment to grant approval for the motorway scheme.

Jackson claims the motorway will bisect its lands at Carrickmines, Co Dublin, and that there will be inadequate access to the property. The company owns 106 acres near the proposed motorway interchange. About 20 acres were acquired by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for the motorway. This left over 20 acres to the north of the motorway zoned industrial and 60 acres to the south zoned agricultural.

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Jackson claims access to its lands is inadequate and inconsistent with the rezoning.

Mr Liam McKechnie SC, for the council, said he had brought a motion to dismiss Jackson's appeal for failure to lodge the books of appeal in the matter.

Mr James Macken SC, for Jackson, said a notice of appeal had been lodged and the books of appeal should be lodged within a week.

The Chief Justice said it was desirable the appeal should proceed with reasonable expedition. He directed that the books of appeal be lodged by 4 p.m. on November 19th and submissions be filed in the Supreme Court office by 4 p.m. on November 29th. The appeal would be heard on December 13th.

On that basis, the motion to dismiss the appeal for failure to lodge books of appeal was struck out.