THE DIRECTORS of a Limerick construction firm have been given six months to complete the ground works, road surfacing and relevant site completion at a housing development that has literally left residents in the dark. Lisnagry based builders, Mourne View Properties, said that they were in no position at the moment to complete the outstanding work at the Churchfields development in Clonlara, which included the final finish layer of road surfacing, public street lighting and landscaping boundaries.
The directors of the company, Martin and Mary McGivern, who could not be contacted ahead of the proceedings and were not present in court, had instructed their solicitor to seek an adjournment.
With properties still for sale in the 85 house development, the court heard that the estate was still without public lighting and had man-hole covers protruding some three inches above the road base layer.
The court heard that the final layer of roadway had not been laid and that there were “certain financial difficulties” preventing this being done in a timeframe acceptable to the court.
During the boom, semi-detached houses in the Churchfields estate sold for close to €300,000 but now, having been included in the NAMA residential mortgage 80:20 deferred payment scheme, those same houses can be purchased for just €120,000.
A planning inspector for Clare County Council told the court that there were a number of issues with the development and its completion. He said that there was a failure on behalf of the directors of the company in relation to the renewal of the bond.
Referring to the physical structures, he said that the development was not constructed in accordance with approved plans; landscaping and boundary issues remained unresolved as well as the road and lighting issues.
“So you are telling me that the residents are driving on unlit roads with exposed man-hole covers as well?” asked Judge Eugene O’Kelly when he questioned why no progress had been made on the issue since the last court adjournment.
Solicitor for the company said that he had been instructed to seek an adjournment to allow his clients source finances as their previous loan applications had not been fruitful.
The judge said that a number of adjournments had been granted but no progress had been made.
With NAMA involvement, the court heard that “things were now moving at a snail’s pace but an order could advance matters”.
The court heard that three planning conditions had not been adhered to and that CCTV footage verifying completion of drainage works was still outstanding. This was necessary to allow the sewage system to be connected to the Limerick drainage system.
A total of nine inspections were carried out by Clare county council planning officers.
Judge O’Kelly convicted the company for the breaches of the planning and development act and ordered that the required work be completed within six months.
Mourne View Properties was fined €1,650 and had costs of €3,150 awarded against them.
