The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Kenmare on course to acquire peninsula
KENMARE is on course to see what was once one of the most coveted tracts of land in the county become a major public asset of recreational walkways, sporting facilities and housing for the elderly.
Kerry County Council has successfully bid to acquire the ‘peninsula lands’ –adjacent to the town centre and running along the banks of the Finnihy River – from Nama. Sold for nearly €20 million by the Arthur family in the boom to Conor Slattery of Sigma Private Equity Ltd, the land has since remained undeveloped - after a major project was refused by Kerry County Council and An Bord Plenála on appeal.
A political row erupted this week over media reports on the Nama bid, with local Senator Mark Daly saying a ‘public representative’ he did not name was premature in talking publicly about the process last week.
“The Reverend Michael Cavanagh (Kenmare Church of Ireland vicar) and I first met with the receivers and later Nama officials on behalf of the community on the possibility of acquiring the peninsula back in 2012,” Senator Mark Daly said.
The Kenmare Peninsula Group was set up with Nama advising locals, according to Senator Daly, that the ‘best way forward’ was as part of a joint approach with Kerry County Council under Nama’s community benefit clause - enabling the agency to prefer bids showing clear advantage for communities.
However, Senator Daly said he feared news of the successful Kerry County Council bid may have broken too early: “I have been talking to officials who are disappointed that public representatives went public on the matter prematurely, at what is a delicate point in the sale.”
Local Fine Gael County Councillor Patrick Conor Scarteen spoke publicly on the matter last week but said news of the successful bid was ‘long out there.
“It was in the public domain long before I was contacted about it and a lot of people were asking me ‘is it was true that the Council had bought the lands there?’ Cllr Conor Scarteen told The Kerryman.
He said he facilitated meetings with both the county manager and municipal area manager on the peninsula lands site as recently as last year. “I brought the County Manager there and we walked every inch of it and arranged a meeting with the Peninsula Group of which I am a member.
“It would be a fantastic addition to the town of Kenmare, stretching from the sea right up to the centre of the town and a significant part could be a recreational park, with other space set aside for the use of local sporting clubs and community activities, but that’s all down the road. There’s huge support for it locally,” he said.