Football club seeking permission to retain portacabins for commercial use

A FOOTBALL club has applied for permission to retain portacabins on the site of its clubhouse for commercial use.

Rathcoole Boys Football Club is seeking retention permission for two previously approved temporary grants from South Dublin County Council for its land at Forest Hills in Rathcoole.

In 2016, the local planning authority granted temporary permission of five years in duration for the change of use of an existing single-storey flat-roofed prefabricated temporary building.

The change of use of this building, which is located within the grounds at the front carpark, was from education use to a commercial (pre-school/creche) use.

Previously, in 2014, Holy Family National School received permission to utilise the structure as a classroom for a two-year period before the change of use permission was granted two years later.

In the documentation, it was noted that Happy Feet was the “proposed potential end-user”.

In granting permission in 2016, the local authority believed that giving five-year temporary would allow for the formulation of plans to provide a permanent structure.

At that stage, the council did not envisage an ongoing commercial use for the structure beyond the requested five years and An Bord Pleanála gave the greenlight for the plans on appeal.

In 2019, the football club obtained permission to provide an additional portacabin, which would attach to the existing portacabin on site.

Some 122 children were registered to start at the pre-school in September 2020, with 73 children under the age of three on the waiting list and this led to the application.

Temporary permission was granted on this instance as well.

Now, on April 26, 2022, Rathcoole Boys is seeking to retain permission for the childcare use of the existing portacabins which were previously granted in 2016 and 2020.

Retention is sought to continue to use both premises for childcare use and retain permission for minor changes to the layout of buildings and all associated works.

Third party submissions relating to this proposed development are being accepted by the council up until May 30.

The local planning authority is set to make a decision on the plans by June 20, 2022