The High Court found that two private car parks serving Cork Airport were unauthorised developments, but stayed the orders sought by Dublin Airport Authority to give the operators time to apply for planning permission.
In a judgment delivered on 13 November 2013, Mr Justice Birmingham considered applications under section 160 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 concerning Airport View and Airport Lodge. He was prepared to make orders against the operations, but said immediate closure could be disproportionate and oppressive while planning authorities considered whether the sites were suitable for car parking.
Airport View, about one kilometre south-east of the airport, was operated by J.D. Motorline Limited on land owned by Adrian and Simon Stokes. The business offered public parking, a minibus shuttle and car washing and valeting. The respondents argued that the site’s earlier uses, including a caravan and camping business, supported its current use. The judge rejected that argument, finding commercial public parking materially different from those past activities. A planning determination had also found the car park to be development that was not exempt from planning permission.
The judge considered the operator’s financial circumstances, the business’s employment and the airport authority’s own planning breaches. He said the authority’s commercial motive did not prevent it seeking relief, and its conduct did not justify withholding it. Those considerations had some, but limited, weight. He also said there were planning and public-interest questions about the site’s suitability and the value of offering airport users a choice of parking.
Airport Lodge, near the N27 Cork-to-Kinsale road, was operated by respondents including Daniel Mulvihill, Joseph Carey, Maurice Cassidy, Edward Carey and Pearse Farrell. The operation included public parking and shuttle services, as well as valeting and tyre sales. The respondents accepted that the car park was unauthorised. They argued, however, that the use had continued for more than seven years and could no longer be restrained under section 160.
The judge rejected that argument. He found commercial public parking significantly different in character and intensity from the earlier parking and storage of rental cars, so the seven-year limit did not bar the authority’s application. The respondents had already agreed to stop using part of the site for parking before and during the hearing.
For both sites, the court stayed the orders it was disposed to make to allow applications to be processed by Cork County Council and, if necessary, An Bord Pleanála. The judgment does not record the duration or detailed terms of the stays, or the eventual outcome of any planning applications.