Controversy surrounds unoccupied Killaloe homes

A KILLALOE couple have clashed with a local businessman over alleged representations he made on behalf of a developer, who purchased a local ghost estate where their unoccupied house is situated.
Michele Burke and William Buck, who have been forced to pay rent and a mortgage for over four years, while services at Ard na Deirge, Killaloe remain unfinished, have sent Brian Whelan a solicitor’s letter.
Mr Whelan has declined to comment on the contents of the solicitor’s letter or a copy of sworn affidavits sent to The Clare Champion by the couple and another property owner, John Ryan, who also can’t get into his house in the estate.
In the solicitor’s letter, Leahy and Partners stressed there is no foundation to statements made in recent telephone calls to their clients that they have not paid for the property and have no right of access to it.
“Michele Burke and William Buck are the full registered owners of the above property with a State-guaranteed Land Registry title. Subject only to their own mortgage with Bank of Ireland, they own the property outright.
“We can categorically confirm that each and every stage payment in respect of the property was made by our clients as and when it was requested up until the original developer went into receivership.
“By that point, the property was virtually complete, save for connection to the services which, as you will be aware, are dealt with in the current planning permission relating to the development and with which the person you represent is bound to comply.
“In the event that he decides, as you have intimated to our clients he may, to ‘sit on’ the site for now and simply re-apply should the current permission expire in the meantime, you can rest assured that our clients will do everything in their power to ensure that the same provisions in their favour will be included in the next planning permission,” the letter stated.
It warned the new developer has no right to prevent them from a right of access through the development site and any attempt to do so would be met with the strongest possible opposition, including, if necessary, the instigation of legal proceedings.
In her affidavit, Ms Burke stated she and her husband met Brian Whelan on Wednesday evening, July 11, 2012 outside Flanagan’s restaurant in Ballina, prior to the development site in Killaloe going up for sale.
“He explained he worked for a man in Limerick and was representing a couple of people who were interested in the development site and someone who had a €200,000 offer.
“He asked us what we would want for the house and we stated we wanted €200,000 in order to pay off the mortgage and our costs. He explained he had organised with the receiver for a person to go in and tidy up the site.
“I received a call on February 25 [2013] from a number I did not recognise. When I answered, the person on the other end said, ‘Michele?’ and I said ‘Yes’ and he said ‘this is Brian Whelan’.
“He said he was representing the successful bidder on the development site and that the call was a courtesy call to let my husband and I know that in the contract they have received there is no mention of access rights for us or the other two.
“I informed him that our title deed states we have full access and he said it isn’t in his contract and we may need to look into this. He then said ‘but you haven’t paid for that house … what were they €340,000? I stated that what we had paid was our business and not his,” she stated.
“I asked Brian Whelan the name of the person he is representing that has bought the site and he said the person wishes to remain anonymous.
“I also asked him their plans and he said ‘27 houses would not sell in Killaloe at present so they have decided that since they got it for such a bargain, they are just going to sit on it until the market turns’.
“He also said since they have to start at the back of the site to put in the services for us, that it will cost too much up front, so they are going to sit on it.
“I finished the conversation stating that we would just have to sink a sewage tank and move on in until the services are available and I hung up the phone,” she added.
In his affidavit, Mr Buck confirmed he had met Mr Whelan with his wife, Michele on Wednesday evening, July 11, 2012, outside Flanagan’s and had also received a phone call at 2.59pm on February 25 from a person who identified himself as Brian Whelan.
John Ryan of 2 Castlepark, Caherconlish, Limerick stated in his affidavit that Mr Whelan rang him on July 12, 2012 asking what he would require in order to be satisfied about his house in Ard na Deirge, as well as his son’s.