The Office of Public Works has been engaged in dialogue with the private landowners at Castletown Estate and attended mediation, as requested by private landowners. The details of the process are confidential. This mediation concluded on 29 September 2023. The OPW is disappointed that it was not possible to reach agreement.
It should be noted that it has long been the policy of the OPW to seek to reunite the historic Castletown Estate. In 1994, when the Office of Public Works took responsibility for Castletown House and Estate there was an initial landholding of only 13 acres of land. In 1997, one hundred acres south of the house was acquired. The farmyard adjacent to the house was acquired in 2001. In 2006, lands associated with the Batty Langley Lodge were acquired with former Coillte lands to the north and east of the House acquired in 2007. Since 2008, the OPW has reassembled 227 acres of the original 580 acres of land which formed the historic demesne.
As part of the policy to seek to reunite the historic Castletown demesne lands with the house and lands in the care of the State, the OPW has sought on several occasions to purchase the lands in question from Janus Securities including when the lands were offered for sale on the open market in 2022. However, despite the very best efforts of the OPW, the State was out-bid in the open market process and ultimately, the lands were acquired by a private purchaser.
As Minister, I have spoken with my government colleagues on this issue and my officials in OPW have engaged with the relevant departments. The OPW remains committed to acquiring lands that formed part of the original estate, where they became available. This objective will be pursued in line with the requirements of the Public Spending Code.
At present, the Celbridge gate is the only vehicular access route available to the OPW at Castletown. The M4 access road was used under licence from the previous owner, and until the 29th September 2023 by permission from the current landowners. The private landowners withdrew this permission from the OPW on 29 September.
Until the agreement with the previous landowners in 2007, the Celbridge Gate was the only vehicular access point to Castletown House and Estate. Between 1994 and 2007, there were no problems recorded for the many years that this access route was used by pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles. I note that Castletown has five kilometres of paths which are compliant for use for people using a wheelchair.
In addition, the OPW has put in place a traffic management plan, operated by a professional traffic management company, to ensure safe access for all users. The OPW continues to encourage all visitors to use public transport or active travel to access the site as far as possible. However, vehicular access is required for OPW staff and contractors, deliveries and other services to operate Castletown House and Estate. In addition, there are 6 parking spaces for people with a disability permit and approximately 30 spaces for other visitors.
While the OPW will encourage visitors to use public transport, this may not be possible for all of the approximately 25,000 visitors to Castletown House for guided tours each year. Accessibility for all visitors to this internationally important Historic House is important.
