Developer wins appeal on €260,000 planning levy

The Planning Appeals Board has ruled that the developer of a new sportswear outlet and gym on a vacant site on the Headford Road will not now have to make a contribution of more than €260,000 to Galway City Council towards the provision of parking.

Earlier this year, Galway City Council granted planning permission for the three-storey development beside the IMC Cinema at Galway Retail Park, subject to 19 conditions being complied with.

One of the conditions required the applicants, Cleverson Limited, to make a contribution of €262,000 towards the cost of car parking.

Planners said that the development would necessitate the provision of additional car parking spaces in the vicinity of the site. They considered it reasonable that such a contribution would be made.

The levy was subsequently appealed to An Bord Pleanála, with the applicant stating the retail park is already served by a car park with 410 spaces, an access road, pedestrian access and common areas.

They argued that the proposed development will utilise the existing car park and that this was clearly stated in the planning application to the City Council.

It was further stated that the applicants have sufficient legal interest to permit the use of the existing car parking spaces for the purposes of the operation of the development.

They went on to say that the planning condition which levies a development contribution in respect of a shortfall in car parking spaces should not have been applied.

An Bord Pleanála ruled that such contributions apply to areas such as the city centre, the inner city residential area and Salthill

But as the proposed development is not located in any of these areas, the City Council’s Development Contribution Scheme has not been properly applied in this case.

When the planning application came before the City Council, there was opposition from the IMC Cinema Group on the grounds that the road infrastructure is inadequate for the increased footfall that would be expected as a result of this development.

They also said that the plan would block current signage of the cinema and further stated that it would represent an over intensification of the area as well as impeding delivery access to the cinema.

The plans involve the construction of a €2.3 million block housing a new sportswear outlet and 24-hour gym on the site which is owned by the family of hotelier and developer John Lally.