Pat Desmond, wife of Dermot Desmond, objected to plans for basement over flooding fears
Pat and Dermot Desmond. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins
The Ailesbury Road trophy home in Dublin 4 that was the subject of a long-running planning battle involving next-door neighbour and the wife of billionaire Dermot Desmond has been sold for €4m.
A new entry on the Property Price Register shows that St Peter’s, on the “millionaires’ row” at Ailesbury Road, sold on May 30.
The sale of the red-brick six-bedroom Victorian home comes three years after the property was first placed on the market by Karen Reihill, at an asking price of €4.85m.
Former model Ms Reihill and financier Shane Reihill purchased the property for €2.9m in 2015 and even though the couple failed to obtain the guide price, the €4m sale price is a €1.1m gain on the 2015 purchase.
In 2016, An Bord Pleanála granted planning permission to Ms Reihill to proceed with a 1,650 sq ft basement plan at St Peter’s, that had a much larger floorspace than an average three-bedroom semi-detached home.
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Next door neighbour, Pat Desmond had opposed the application when it was before Dublin City Council, and appealed the council grant to An Bord Pleanála.
In a comprehensive appeal, planning consultant for Mrs Desmond, Simon Clear, said that “the basement is likely to penetrate the ground water level and displacement of flooding will occur into adjoining properties”.
He said: “Given these circumstances, worst-case scenarios should be assessed before any decision to grant permission is made.”
Mr Clear contended that the development is a material contravention of the provision of the city development plan.
However, the appeals board granted planning permission after its inspector in the case concluded that the proposal would not be subject to any appreciable flood risk and it would be capable of being constructed and retained in a manner that would not prejudice the stability of adjacent foundations.
In 2021, Mr Reihill secured an extension to the five-year planning permission and the permission for the house revamp is valid until September 23, 2026.
The council planning report, which recommended that planning be extended, said that “the applicant has indicated that this is an application in relation to a development where commercial, economic or technical constraints substantially militated against either commencement of development or the carrying out of substantial works”.