3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Operator of Dublin Fields movie studios wins €276,000 planning levy battle
An Bord Pleanála has ruled that combined public infrastructure and special planning contributions to be paid by Lens Media Ltd to the council be reduced by a cumulative €276,018.
Lens Media has stated that the proposed film studios 'will more than double the current soundstage offering in Ireland' and once fully operational, it will directly support in the region of 2,800 jobs and a further 2,100 indirectly.
The board has reduced the planning contributions bill following an appeal by Lens Media.
In the ruling, the appeals board has upheld the argument put forward by the applicants that a special planning contribution of €143,112 be removed as the junction upgrades at the R120 Newcastle Village-Peamount Road referenced in the condition is not exceptional or specific to the proposed development.
The appeals board also ordered that a demand by the council that Lens Media Ltd pay a public infrastructure planning contribution be reduced by €132,906 from €8.859m to €8.72m.
The council found that contribution exemptions in relation to the South Dublin County Council Development Contribution Scheme 2021-2025 were not properly applied.
The appeals board stated that the council applied a commercial levy to 1,112sqm of the scheme which comprise switch-rooms, plant rooms, ancillary plant rooms and a standalone substation, all of which are listed as exempt from development contributions.
The board made its ruling following a 27-page inspector's report recommending the reduction in planning levies.
Last December, the council granted a 10-year planning permission to Lens Media Ltd for the 56-acre site which includes 20 individual structures amounting to over 74,000sqm of gross floor space.
A planning report by planning consultants Tom Phillips+ Associates lodged with the application stated that Dublin Fields 'will have all the elements that will lure top productions from around the world'.
The planning report stated that the project 'will be a world-class studio' and occupy the top tier of movie studios globally.
In their report, the consultants stated: 'We believe this will be the largest stage in the European Union, and a unifying step in making Ireland a new hub for the movie and TV industry.'
