Appeal to An Bord Pleanála to change laundrette to take-away

CONFUSION over ownership of parking spaces that led to permission being refused to convert a laundrette into a take-away restaurant, has seen an appeal lodged against the decision.

The applicant, Colm Wu, lodged a change of use planning application to convert a laundrette at Unit 1, Ballymount Road Lower, for take-away use.

Concerning a ground-floor level unit, the development includes all associated minor internal removal works and removal of existing gable windows.

This would be to make way for upgrading the existing shop front, with the proposal including bin storage, drainage, signage and associated development works.

Two third-party submissions were received by South Dublin County Council relating to the proposed development.

The submissions raised concerns around the number of existing take-aways in the area, litter, anti-social behaviour and the impact on quality of life as well as parking.

The council did confirm that the proposal would not lead to an over-concentration of take-away uses in the area.

After consideration, the council requested further information from the applicant back in January in relation to concerns around car-parking spaces in front of the unit and requested a new, revised layout plan, location map and redline boundary.

The council requested that written consent from the landowner/ management company that own the area where the car-parking spaces are proposed in front of the building must be provided by the applicant.

In providing a response to this, the applicant stated that “all avenues of enquiry, including legal enquiry, have taken place to try determine, the landowner/management company of the car-parking spaces to the front of

Units 1-4, to date this cannot be determined”.

Without formal confirmation of land ownership, the applicant believes that “the provision of car-parking to serve the proposed take-away is considered established and infrequent given the proposed use”.

And with the spaces not in ownership of the applicant, they could not show the spaces on a revised red line boundary without prior consent from the owner, which they reiterated “is currently unknown”.

The local planning authority refused planning permission on June 28, 2021 and gave two reasons behind the decision to do so.

The first reason was around the lack of parking facilities with the “lack of control” at the site and adjacent premises regarding parking, that “would lead to overspill parking on the surround road network”.

It also stated that the proposed development would “set an undesirable precedent for other similar developments” and would result in a “traffic hazard”.

CDP Architecture, on behalf of the applicant Mr Colm Wu, lodged an appeal against the decision with An Bord Pleanála on July 23.

They stated that “this lack of control should have no direct bearing” on the application as it is “outside the control of the applicant and the majority of shop/retail owners along Ballymount Road Lower”.

They reiterated that the car-parking spaces are not linked to folios which could determine ownership and stated that the spaces in question are “established use”.

In the appeal, they also stated that it is a take-away delivery service – which would not see customers using spaces for a lengthy period of time.

“As stated previously within this appeal, the proposed development should not be singled out with a view to creating a precedent in the area,” it reads.

They believed that the proposed use should be viewed as “bringing life and activity to the area” and as a “positive contribution to the area”.

ABP are due to maker a decision on the case by November 25, 2021.