NCT test centre plans will ‘negatively affect enjoyment and value of my home’
By Aideen O'Flaherty
A TYMONVILLE resident has said that extended opening hours at the Greenhills NCT Centre adjacent to his house will “negatively affect my enjoyment of my home”.
Colm Lynch stated this in a leave to appeal that he recently submitted to An Bord Pleanála, seeking to overturn South Dublin County Council’s decision to grant permission for the amended opening hours.
Residents along with Paul Murphy, TD showing the close proximity of the Greenhills NCT Centre to their back gardens
As previously reported in The Echo, residents whose houses are at the back of the test centre said that longer opening hours would have an “unbearable” impact on them as a result of noise from the centre, and they expressed concerns about the efficacy of the proposed acoustic wall.
Applus Inspection Services Ltd, which operates the National Car Testing service on behalf of the Road Safety Authority, lodged a planning application with South Dublin County Council last October.
The company sought planning permission for the construction of a 4.5m acoustic wall, with cranked top to the back and side boundaries of the NCT centre, and also for revised operating hours that they previously received permission for from An Bord Pleanála in 2015.
The revised operating hours are 8am to 6pm on Monday and Tuesday, 8am to 10pm from Wednesday to Friday, then 8am to 7pm on Saturday and 8am to 5pm on Sundays.
South Dublin County Council granted permission for the plans on May 19, with a number of conditions.
One of the conditions includes the stipulation that the revised opening hours are for a period of two years, and that the centre will revert back to their previous opening hours two years from the date of the grant of planning permission – unless further planning permission is sought and granted.
Applus is also required to retain “a suitably qualified professional” to undertake a survey in the area surrounding the test centre to monitor the noise impact of the centre in the evenings.
In response to the grant of permission, Mr Lynch submitted a leave to appeal to An Bord Pleanála against the council’s decision.
Mr Lynch stated in his leave to appeal that the extended opening hours, “as a result of the noise generated from [the NCT centre’s] work into the evening”, will “negatively affect my enjoyment of my home and reduce the value of my home”.
A decision has not yet been made by An Bord Pleanála on Mr Lynch’s leave to appeal.
