Howth owners threaten action against Howlin

THE developers whose land in Howth, Co Dublin, would be frozen by a proposed Special Amenity Area Order (SAAO) have threatened a "massive constitutional action" to protect their property rights.

Mr Richard Barrett, of Treasury Holdings Ltd, said the first he knew of the SAAO - announced by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Howlin on Sunday - was when he bought a copy of The Irish Times in London yesterday.

"It is absolutely unbelievable that the Minister would step in to make such an order without having the courtesy to talk to the landowners," he said.

"Nobody bothered to ask us what we intended to do with the land."

A Treasury Holdings subsidiary, Allenspark Ltd, acquired some 300 acres on Howth's East Mountain earlier this year from the Dublin businessman Mr Gerry McGuinness and the Howth Estate, controlled by Mr Christopher Gaisford St Lawrence.

The company's strategy was to develop some housing in what it regarded as "less sensitive" parts of its extensive holding and donate the rest to Fingal County Council. But the Minister has now directed the council to make an SAAO for the entire area.

Mr Barrett blamed "political manoeuvrings" by Ms Jean Finn, of the East Mountain Action Group, for Mr Howlin's decision to intervene.

"We didn't buy the Hill of Howth to desecrate it and we don't need lessons in environmental responsibility from Ms Finn or anyone else."

If Mr Howlin was so concerned to protect Howth from development, "he should have come to talk to us in the first instance. Then he might have discovered what our plans are." But it was clear that Mr Howlin had made up his mind "without listening to the other side".

Mr Barrett said it would have been possible to reach an arrangement with the main landowners in the area, his own company and the Howth Estate, which would have satisfied everyone. Instead, the Minister had taken the "precipitate step" of directing the council to make an SAAO.

"If they want to operate in this manner, we will take it all the way to the Supreme Court," he warned. "On the other hand, if the Minister and others concerned about the future of Howth are interested in an equitable solution, we're prepared to discuss the matter."