Tipperary school appeals €30,000 condition on approved extension
A Tipperary school has appealed a condition that will cost an additional €30,000 attached to its recently approved planning permission for a new extension.
Tipperary Education and Training Board (ETB) applied to the local authority for planning permission to add more than 20 new classrooms to Newport College in the north Tipperary town of Newport.
The plans will see one, two and three-storey extensions added, with 13 regular classrooms, eight specialist classrooms, one special education room, a two-classroom special educational needs (SEN) unit with direct access to its own outdoor play area, and a sensory garden, as well as a new pedestrian access point.
Despite the planning permission being granted by Tipperary County Council, Tipperary ETB made an appeal to the planning appeals board seeking the removal of one of the planning conditions imposed by the council.
The local authority stipulated that the ETB pay the council a development contribution of €30,000 towards the cost of providing a signalised pedestrian crossing.
An agent acting on behalf of Tipperary Education and Training Board said that the council had failed to fully explain the development contribution that is expected, adding that it is “vague”.
"The applicant respectfully submits that [the condition] is invalid as the local authority has failed to demonstrate: exceptional cost, specific benefit, and calculation of the contribution.
"The local authority’s application of Tipperary County Council’s development contribution scheme is unclear and unnecessary,” the agent said.
"The local authority does not appear to have considered funding for the pedestrian crossing from the national schemes specifically designed for local authorities to fund the delivery of pedestrian and cycle facilities,” they added.
The agent acting for the ETB also said that the proposed pedestrian crossing will have a benefit to the wider community, not just to the school, and that development contributions should not be used in these cases.
The school is located on the Black Road in the town, which is a largely residential area, that also includes a funeral home, contributing to regular traffic movements along the route.
"Infrastructure that serves the wider community may not be funded through special contributions,” the appeal letter states.
"There have been two serious traffic incidents on the Black Road in recent years. We respectfully submit that the proposed crossing is a public infrastructure upgrade,” they added.
The appeal is now before An Coimisiún Pleanála, with a decision due by June 4.