Council fails in bid to acquire filling station site for homeless hub
Meath County Council has failed in its attempt to compulsorily acquire a vacant filling station site in Navan after An Coimisiún Pleanála refused consent for the move.
The local authority had sought to acquire the site at Johnstown under the Derelict Sites Act 1990, with a view to developing a 32-bed homeless hub on the lands.
However, the property owner, Edward Cunningham of Athlumney, Navan, objected to the compulsory purchase, arguing that the site did not meet the statutory definition of a derelict property.
He also claimed the council failed to follow procedure under Section 8 of the Act by placing the site on the Derelict Sites Register without addressing reasonable offers of remediation, and said an open-market sale is already underway at a value significantly higher than any compulsory purchase compensation.
The site, located at the junction of the Metges Road and Kentstown Road, extends to just over an acre and is zoned for residential use.
In its decision, An Coimisiún Pleanála found that while the property may be “unsightly” and detract to some extent from the surrounding area, it does not meet the statutory definition of a derelict site under the 1990 Act.
The Commission said it was not satisfied that compulsory acquisition of the site was necessary at this time to render it non-derelict or to prevent it becoming derelict.
“It is therefore considered that the objection made can be sustained, having regard to that said necessity and that the compulsory acquisition and its effects on the property rights of affected landowners are not proportionate to that objective and not justified by the exigencies of the common good at this time,” the decision stated.
The Commission noted the inspector had found the buildings to be “structurally sound and watertight, not in a dangerous or ruinous condition, well maintained and with no litter or rubbish evident on site, albeit somewhat unsightly in its current vacant condition”.
They concluded that the site does not fall within the definition of a derelict site under Section 3 of the Derelict Sites Act, 1990, and that compulsory acquisition would not be “a proportionate intervention at this time”.