Community Centre wins leave to appeal decision
THE Kilnamanagh Family Recreation Centre’s application for leave to appeal South Dublin County Council’s decision to grant permission to Kilnamanagh AFC for a new clubhouse on Treepark Road has been granted permission by An Bord Pleanála (ABP).
The recreation centre now has two weeks from the date of ABP’s decision – January 12 – to lodge an appeal against the council’s grant of permission for the Kilnamanagh AFC clubhouse.
As previously reported in The Echo, the recreation centre’s management wanted to specifically appeal the car parking aspect of the permitted development, as a portion of the proposed car park for the clubhouse falls into the grounds of the community centre.
An Bord Pleanála received the community centre’s application for leave to appeal last month, after it was lodged by the chairman of the Kilnamanagh Family Recreation Centre, Martin O’Brien.
Mr O’Brien stated that the leave to appeal centred only on “a single aspect of the development i.e. the 67 car parking spaces the applicant was subsequently requested to provide”.
The 67 car parking spaces were not in the football club’s initial application for planning permission, but were added to the application at a later stage via additional information that was requested by the council.
An artist impression of the Kilnamanagh Football Club plans
The car parking spaces “are not within the land of the proposed development but are located in our community centre grounds,” according to Mr O’Brien.
“These 67 car parking spaces are already part of the 99 car parking spaces that we ourselves had to submit to the planning authority when we were seeking approval for an extension to our building.
“This gives rise to serious liability insurance concerns as it would now seem that there would be a conflict of responsibilities between us and the Kilnamanagh AFC.”
However, Mr O’Brien added that the community centre is “extremely open” to working with the football club to come up with “a viable alternative” for the location of the car parking spaces.
Mr O’Brien stepped down as chairperson of the recreation centre in late December, following the lodgment of the appeal. Anthony Condron is the new chairperson of the facility.
On January 12, ABP granted leave to appeal to the Kilnamanagh Family Recreation Centre.
ABP stated it granted the leave of appeal because the development “will materially differ from the development as set out in the application for permission” and that the car parking aspect of the development will “materially affect” the centre’s “enjoyment of the land…or reduce the value of the land”.
