In 2012 it was revealed that the Chinese embassy had added a fourth property to its Ailesbury Road holdings when it acquired 38 Ailesbury Road, Dublin 4, a near-5,300sq ft family home. But a later purchase of an even bigger nearby property went largely unnoticed. Until now.

A recent planning dispute around the corner at 67 Nutley Road has revealed that the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China was the purchaser of Nutley Lodge, an Arts and Crafts- style home constructed in the late 1990s and extending to a massive 7,240sq ft.

The embassy applied, and was granted planning permission, for a change of use of Nutley Lodge from residential to embassy office.

Permission was granted despite this contravening a condition set out in the original planning permission for the property. However it stated that the home must return to residential use if sold. While it came on the market and went sale agreed in 2012, it is likely that the house’s sale did not complete until well into 2013.

As with its purchase of 38 Ailesbury Road, the Chinese embassy was granted an exemption from Stamp Duty and for this reason neither sales were included in the property price register. While the sale price of number 38 remains unknown, Nutley Lodge was seeking €3 million when it came on the market. For a house of its scale, quality and location the price manages to look competitive considering the recent upsurge in prices.

Meanwhile across the road from Nutley Lodge, a Mr Anthony Ryan is seeking permission to replace Hamilton Court, a non-descript two-storey apartment block, with four detached houses each 1,540sq ft in size.

Hamilton Court consists of eight apartments and was constructed around 1971 on the rear garden of 77 Ailesbury Road, currently the Chinese Embassy’s economic and commercial counsellor’s office.

Perhaps if the development proceeds and Mr Ryan gets the go ahead, he may whet the appetite of a certain Embassy with a penchant for top-quality properties in this specific 250-metre radius?