Appeal over €225k council bill for Tullamore nursing home project
The developer of a planned 244-bed nursing home and rehabilitation facility in Tullamore has lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanála over the €225,000 development contribution it's being asked to pay Offaly County Council in respect of the project.
Last month, the council awarded planning permission to John Flanagan Developments Ltd for a nursing home, 'step down' facility, rehabilitation and convalescence unit on the Wellwood Health Park site at Ardan/Puttaghan, just off the Tullamore N52 by-pass.
The developer welcomed the planning decision but took issue with one of the conditions attached to it - namely the development contribution of €225,738 which it has been instructed to pay the local authority prior to the start of work on site.
John Flanagan Developments is arguing it should not have to pay any development contributions as it previously paid a contribution of just over €511,000, fourteen years ago, in respect of a larger-scale development for hospital and primary care use on the same site.
That project in 2007 ground to a halt as a result of the financial crisis at the time, and the site, on a prominent entrance to the town, has remained in a "part-developed" state ever since.
The planning appeal, which was lodged this month on behalf of the developer by Edinburgh-based firm Scott Hobbs Planning Ltd, argued that Offaly County Council did not take into account the previous development contributions for the site and therefore was 'double counting' the sums it was seeking.
Being forced to pay the stipulated contribution of €225,738 "could have an impact on viability and could restrict job creation," the developer stated.
The appeal quoted guidelines for local authorities, which stated that development contributions were "not cash-cows" and that there was a balance to be struck between "the funding of public infrastructure and the need to encourage economic activity".
It added that work on the nursing home development was not expected to start until the spring of next year.
The appeal concluded with the contention that that the Offaly County Council development contribution scheme had been wrongly applied in this instance and that no contribution was required as a result.
"It is requested that the board agrees with this and deletes the condition and the need for the contribution," it stated.
"Should Offaly County Council provide a response to this appeal, the appellant requests the right to respond to any matter raised or information submitted."
An Bord Pleanála is due to make a decision on the appeal by December 14.