Council Offered Castle Lease
Tetrarch Capital is reported to have proposed a potential deal for Fingal County Council to take Howth Castle on a 99-year lease to allow it to develop a tourism destination similar to nearby Malahide Castle.
Tetrarch’s plans for a €10 million transformation of Howth Castle into a retail, food and tourist destination suffered a setback after An Bord Pleanála refused to lift a number of planning conditions which restricted measures which the promoters claim are critical for the project.
The board rejected a joint appeal by WSHI, a company linked to the real estate investment group Tetrarch Capital, and the Michael J Wright hospitality group against several planning conditions, including the requirement for the developers to omit a proposed new road within the estate.
It also rejected a claim by the developers that a development contribution set at almost €165,000 was wrongly over-calculated by around €61,000.
Fingal County Council granted planning permission for the major redevelopment of Howth Castle in early 2023 but imposed a number of planning conditions which were challenged by the developers.
Consultants for WSHI and the Wright group claimed their plans for the sustainable development of the castle and its environment were being “unnecessarily compromised” by the conditions attached to the approval of the project.
The developers argued that the new road to the east of Howth Castle was required to safely accommodate the predicted traffic volumes and mix of users as well as segregate visitors to their desired location within the estate.
Fingal County Council claimed the promoters of the project had not justified the need for the new road and stated it was “unnecessary” and “an over-engineered response” that would contravene objectives of the Fingal County Development Plan 2023-2029.
Tetrarch bought Howth Castle and Demesne, which included 472 acres of land, together with Ireland's Eye from the Gainsford-St Lawrence family in 2019 for an undisclosed sum.
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