Kildare group, Friends of Castletown mark two years of Castletown House debacle

Kildare group, Friends of Castletown is calling on the OPW and all partners to the project, to progress urgently a vehicle access proposal to allow Castletown House “to thrive as a treasured local and tourist amenity.”

This month marks the second anniversary of the loss of vehicular access to Castletown House in Celbridge, Co Kildare.

In September 2023 the Office of Public Works (OPW) lost its use of the M4 access road having failed to purchase the adjacent lands – now in private ownership – or to regularise pre-existing access arrangements.

Friends of Castletown has stated that this has left the house and its parklands in a precarious position, limiting public access and undermining its role as a national asset.

In March 2024, a proposal for a new access route and car park was welcomed by both the OPW and the neighbouring Kildare Innovation Campus (KIC).

KIC offered land for the creation of the car park with the OPW undertaking to investigate options for the creation of an access road. Both organisations expressed eagerness to advance the plan quickly by producing preliminary drawings and moving the project towards the planning application stage.

However, despite the clear need and broad community support for the project, the OPW has stated that it cannot proceed with the road between Castletown House and the car park due to difficulties with the planning permission.

But according to Friends of Castletown, this road could in fact be built as an exempted development on its own.

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“This road should not be stalled on planning grounds”, said Social Democrats councillor Claire O'Rourke.

“It can qualify as an Exempted Development and there is strong community and institutional support for its delivery. The public deserves clarity on why progress has halted.”

A spokesperson for Friends of Castletown said: “The community is calling on the OPW and all partners to the project, to progress urgently this vehicle access proposal to allow Castletown House to thrive as a treasured local and tourist amenity.”