Appeal lodged against decision made for disaster recovery centre
By Aideen Flaherty
A COMPANY linked to billionaire businessman Denis O’Brien has lodged an appeal against South Dublin County Council’s decision to refuse retention permission for a disaster recovery centre in Baldonnel Business Park.
Jepview Ltd, with an address in Clonskeagh, lodged an application for retention permission for the change of use of an approved ground floor warehouse/factory area (455sq.m) to a disaster recovery/business continuity centre in Unit G of the business park last October.
The offices in Baldonnel Business Park
Retention permission was also sought for the change of use of approved ancillary offices at ground and first floor (459sq.m) to office use, and an extension at first floor area (81sq.m) to provide staff toilets and server room.
Provision of an external generator plant enclosure and all associated ancillary works necessary to facilitate the development was included in the plans.
The local authority refused retention permission last December, as they stated that the plans didn’t align with the zoning of the area, which is zoned for employment and enterprise.
The council also said the development was “at a location deficient in public transport or walking and cycling facilities and located at a significant distance from existing residential areas and public transport services.”
As such, they said the development would “set an undesirable precedent for other similar developments, which would in themselves and cumulatively, be harmful to the growth of existing warehousing development in the area.”
Billionaire Denis O’Brien
Jepview lodged an appeal against the council’s decision last month, where their grounds for appeal included the fact that the disaster recovery/business centre at that location has been in use since 2005, and that the purpose of the planning application was to “regularise” that activity.
They added that the proposed office suites will only be used in the event of a disaster in which a company’s normal workplace is unusable, and said the unit is “effectively always vacant” given that disaster events that require the use of the unit are “an extremely rare occurrence”.
A decision on the appeal has not yet been made by An Bord Pleanála.
The business park is set to be a hub of activity in the coming months as, in an unrelated plan, it is proposed that Unit E of Baldonnel Business Park will house a new €60 million Amazon fulfillment centre.
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