Prime residential site next to Pat Kenny’s Dalkey home for €3.9m

The sale of a prime residential site next to Bullock Harbour in Dalkey is likely to attract strong interest from developers and investors.Located on Ulverton Road and Harbour Road, the subject site, which extends to 1.56 acres, had until recently been the subject of an ambitious plan by developer Richard Barrett’s Bartra Property for the development of a five-storey, 104-unit nursing home. The proposal was ultimately rejected by An Coimisiún Pleanála in February of this year following a successful High Court challenge brought by broadcaster Pat Kenny, his wife Kathy, and their neighbours against a grant of planning permission given by An Bord Pleanála in July 2023. Pat Kenny, his wife Kathy, and their neighbours objected to Bartra's plan to develop a 104-unit nursing home next to Bullock Harbour in Dalkey. Photograph: Frank Miller With Bartra’s bid to build a nursing home on the site now ruled out, the land is being offered for sale by agent Knight Frank at a guide price of €3.9 million on the basis of its potential to accommodate residential accommodation aimed towards the traditional owner-occupier market or private rented sector.Positioned about 250m from Bullock Harbour, 750 metres from Dalkey village and 1km from Dalkey Dart station, the lower section of the site, known as Yonder, is accessed from Harbour Road while the upper section is accessed from Ulverton Road. The lower portion of the site is occupied by Maple Tree House, a detached seven-bedroom house.READ MOREThe entire site falls under the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Development Plan 2022–2028 and is zoned Objective A Residential. The aim of this objective is “to provide residential development and improve residential amenity while protecting the existing residential amenities”.[ Commercial property in The Irish TimesOpens in new window ]Parties with an interest in developing residential accommodation will note the site had, in relative terms, a more positive planning history before the current owner’s bid to develop a nursing home there. In 2019, planning permission was granted for the construction of 24 residential units comprising a mix of 18 apartments and six houses. This planning permission has since expired.A feasibility study has now been prepared for the site with two options for its development. Option one provides for the construction of 14 houses consisting of two four-bed detached units, four three-bed terraced units, six three-bed plus-study terraced units, and two two-bed semidetached units. Option two replaces four of the terraced houses in option one with six apartments/duplexes, allowing for a total of 16 units. The mix would comprise three two-bed apartments, three three-bed duplexes, two four-bed detached houses, six three-bed plus-study terraced houses, and two two-bed semidetached houses.Finín O’Driscoll of Knight Frank says: “This site offers an attractive lot size in a highly sought-after coastal residential location ... we expect to see high demand for this opportunity.”