‘Notoriety’ of house where Ana died delayed plans for site, say owners
THE owners of the derelict house where teenager Ana Kriegel was murdered said delays in plans to secure the property were partly down to the “notoriety” of the site.
Internal records reveal how Fingal Co Council repeatedly had to contact planning consultants for the owners of Glenwood House about their plans to secure the property and surrounding land.
They also show that plans to develop a nursing home on the site are now unlikely with developers intending to seek planning permission for a different scheme.
The records were obtained from Fingal Co Council after an appeal to the information commissioner, who decided they should be released in the public interest.
Late last July, the council wrote to planning consultants for the owners of Glenwood saying they had agreed to provide a written programme within two weeks of a meeting held on July 15. “Please submit same as soon as possible and the local authority will revert to you following consideration of the proposals,” wrote an official. “Further dialogue with you and the owners will be necessary before a programme of works can be agreed.”
By August 23, the council appeared to be growing impatient as a full programme of works had not been received: “We are still not in receipt of the below… the period for submission has passed.”
Fingal Co Council said they could extend their deadline but only until August 30. On August 28, the developers apologised for not having been in contact sooner.
An email sent to the council said: “It has taken some time to put a team together for this; the main reason being the time of year with many consultants on annual leave and another factor is the notoriety of the site.”
In their plan, they said they would clean the site and remove all rubbish, secure the area, seal the derelict Glenwood House and prop it up with supports. In response, the council welcomed work going ahead. An internal email showed council officials also wanted the work to take place all in one go.
In early November, officials from Fingal were invited to an onsite meeting to see what works were taking place. A note of that meeting said tidy-up works were advancing and that “overgrowth from protected out office buildings was being removed”.
It was also noted that security works for perimeter fencing had not yet begun but that areas were being cleared to make this possible.
The council was also contacted by an official from the Department of Culture, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht for an update. In an email, senior architect Jacqui Donnelly wrote: “Glenwood House was recorded by the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage… it’s shocking to see how it has deteriorated since.”
The council said planning permission for a nursing home on the site had been granted in February 2017 but a subsequent application to extend the nursing home was refused.
In December, another meeting took place between Fingal council officials and representatives of the owners of Glenwood House.
Officials also asked if there had been progress on plans to develop a nursing home at the site. The meeting note said: “[They] advised there are no plans to submit a commencement notice on this permission and that a new planning permission is under consideration and preparation.”
In a statement, Fingal Co Council said: “The property is in private ownership and is a protected structure. Significant stabilisation and protection works to the historic buildings have taken place along with security and tidyup works in a programme… agreed with the council.”
Sherborough Property, owners of the site since the early 2000s, did not respond to a request for comment.
Ana’s body was found beaten and naked in Glenwood House in May 2018, three days after she was reported missing from her home in Leixlip. Boy A and Boy B — who cannot be named for legal reasons — became the youngest murderers in the history of the State after they were convicted.