A prime residential site in the south Dublin village of Dalkey comes on the market today at a guide price of over €7 million.

Savills is handling the sale of Dalkey Manor, an imposing six-bedroom house and its extensive grounds extending to 0.937 hectares (2.32 acres).

The property is located around 300 metres west of Dalkey village on the Barnhill Road.

The area is noted for its old world charm and is located in an attractive coastline setting encompassing beautiful beaches and cliffs and the attractive Coliemore Harbour.

The sale has been prompted by the decision of UK retirement home operators PegasusLife not to proceed with the development of retirement apartments to facilitate people trading down from houses in the area.

Instead the company has opted to concentrate on its core UK business where it operates more than 1,600 apartments on 33 sites.

Under the recently adopted Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Development Plan 2016-2022, the site has a zoning objective “to protect, and/or improve residential amenity”.

The primary use permitted under this zoning is residential but a number of commercial uses are also open for consideration.

Jill Horan of Savills said it was arguably one of the most sought-after residential sites to have come on the market in south Dublin.

She calculates that if the six-bedroom Dalkey Manor house is demolished the site has the potential to accommodate 52 apartments in two blocks or a conventional three-storey housing scheme with 22 units in all.

Ms Horan said any potential development would be subject to securing the necessary planning permission. “As the site is surrounded by mature residential developments and located in the designated heritage town of Dalkey, it would ideally contain an exclusive residential scheme of low to medium density.”