John's Green site owned by cinema removed from Kilkenny vacant register

A piece of land at John’s Green in Kilkenny City, which is owned by the developer of the new cinema in the area, has been removed from the council’s Vacant Site Register following a successful appeal to An Bord Pleanala.

The site is bordered by Wolfe Tone Street and the John’s Green square, with commercial buildings to the rear. There are two notable buildings on site — a gate lodge and the former county hospital, both of which are in poor condition. In registering the site, Kilkenny County Council said it has been vacant/idle for the last 12 months and was having an adverse effect on the character of John’s Green.

The landowner, City Cinemas Ltd, submitted an appeal to the Bord over its inclusion on the basis that the site ‘forms part of the cinema site as a whole’ and (at the time was) being used for part of the works; that the owner has invested €8 million in development in Kilkenny City; and that it was intended to fix the buildings' broken slates and cracked windows in the near future.

The Vacant Sites Levy places a 7% levy on vacant sites in urban areas to ensure they are brought into beneficial use. An appeal under Section 9 requires the owner of the site to show that the majority of the site was not vacant or idle for the preceding 12 months of the date of its entry on the register — in this case, as of December 31, 2018. At that point, the new cinema was under construction, and the appellant said when the cinema was complete, plans would be made for the subject lands.

The Bord’s inspector said he did not find any evidence that the site was in use as a construction compound for the development of the cinema site, and said it has the appearance of having no active use for some time.

“I am satisfied from my own observations of the site and the statements and supporting information from the planning authoirty that the site has remained vacant or idle for at the very least the relevant period of 12 months and most likely considerably longer,” he notes.

The inspector also referenced the owner’s initial submission that the site provided a route for foul water services, however, he said, this did not bring the site to full and beneficial use, nor does it preclude development. Regarding adverse effects on the character of the area and anti-social behaviour, he found there was ‘no evidence of graffiti on the structures of the appeal site’, nor was there evidence of litter.

In his recommendation, the inspector says that the entry of the site on the Vacant Sites Register should be confirmed, deemed to take effect from December 31, 2018.  However, the Bord ultimately determined that, based on the information before it, the site was not a vacant site for the period concerned, as set out in the entry in the Vacant Sites Register.

In doing so, the Bord said it had taken into account the information and grounds of appeal submitted, the inspector’s report, the date of inspection and “the absence of sufficient evidence to support the contention of the planning authority that the site was vacant and idle for the period of 12 months preceding the date of placing the site on the register”.