Laois Vacant Site Levy appealed to An Bord Pleanala

A couple is appealing Laois County Council’s  Vacant Site Levy for three years to An Bord Pleanala.

Barbara and Bruce Fennell had previously appealed the valuation of land at Crossneen, Springfield Road, Graiguecullen, Laois to the Valuation Tribunal in September of 2022.  

The .17 hectare site at Crossneen had been granted planning approval for 22 one and two bedroom apartments in a three storey block. The Valuation Tribunal noted the planning permission had an expiry date of December 31, 2021.

Valuers for Laois County Council had put a value of €150,000 on the site while it had planning permission in September of 2020. 

This figure was disputed by Barbara and Bruce Fennell who said the actual value should have been €75,000. 

In his summing up at the Valuation Tribunal, their valuer submitted that the existence of the planning for the Vacant Site was technically irrelevant as the construction costs would exceed the value of the end product. 

The valuer disagreed that there was an appetite by Associated Housing Bodies (AHBs) for sites and referenced unsuccessful approaches made to AHBs. 

The landowners disagreed with the relevance of comparative valuations used to determine the value, save one of them. Their valuer stood over his valuation of €75,000 for the Vacant Site.

The Tribunal found the valuer for the landowners “submitted no evidence to support his opinion that the construction costs of an apartment development on the Vacant Site would exceed the value of the end product or that there was in fact no demand by AHBs at the valuation date for sites such as the Vacant Site. This again left the Tribunal and the Respondent’s valuer with no documentation to assess or weigh up.”

“Accordingly, for the above reasons, the Tribunal disallows the appeal and confirms the market value of one hundred and fifty thousand euro, [€150,000], as stated in the Notice of Valuation dated 5th of August 2021,” the Tribunal stated.

The demand for payment of the Vacant Site Levy for years 2020, 2021 and 2022 for lands at Crossneen, Springhill Road, Graiguecullen, Co Laois has now been appealed to An Bord Pleanala. 

All three appeals are due to be decided on by An Bord Pleanala by May 13, 2024.