Luas line extension to Finglas faces three legal challenges
High Court Reporter
Two building supplies businesses have initiated separate High Court challenges against An Coimisiún Pleanála’s grant of permission for the extension of the Luas line to Finglas, north Dublin, bringing to three the number of cases brought over the decision.
Brooks Timber & Building Supplies Ltd – together with Downshire Propco Ltd – and Murdock Builders Merchants (Ireland) Ltd are seeking to quash the grant of permission to Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) for the extension.
It emerged last month that Firethorn Ltd, owner of the Manhattan Peanuts factory on Finglas’s McKee Avenue, had initiated proceedings against the grant of permission.
The new line, granted permission on October 28th last year, was planned to run from the current Luas Green line terminus at Broombridge in Cabra to Charlestown, north of Finglas village, a distance of just under 4km, at an expected cost of €600 million.
On Monday, Mr Justice Richard Humphreys granted “leave”, or permission, for the parties in the three cases to pursue their judicial review challenges.
Brooks Timber & Building Supplies operates a building supplies business off Ballyboggan Road, Cabra West. Downshire Propco, with a registered address of New Road, Banbridge, Co Down, owns the premises where the business is operated from.
Murdock Builders Merchants runs a building supplies business at premises on St Margaret’s Road and McKee Avenue, Finglas, next door to the Manhattan Peanuts factory.
In all three cases, an order is sought quashing ACP’s decision to grant permission for an extension of the Luas line. TII is a notice party to the three actions.
According to its court documents, Firehorn claims ACP’s decision is invalid, alleging that a proposed new access road – set to be built at McKee Avenue as part of the Luas extension – contravenes the Dublin City Development Plan 2022-2028 and the Jamestown Masterplan, a Dublin City Council development plan.
Firehorn claims that construction of the access road will require TII’s compulsory acquisition of 1,390m2 of its lands at McKee Avenue.
This is despite TII’s alleged support of an alternative road layout, which would only encroached one metre on to Firethorn’s lands, the firm says.
Firethorn alleges that ACP has not provided adequate reasons for granting permission for the access road layout requiring the compulsory land acquisition.
Firethorn also claims that the effect of ACP’s decision infringes its property rights under the Constitution.
In its court documents, Murdock Builders Merchants also claims the decision is invalid because the proposed development contravenes the Jamestown Masterplan, arising from the proposed access road off McKee Avenue.
Murdock Builders Merchants says the proposed access road will extend beyond its property boundaries, and will impact its ability to conduct business.
Both Murdock Builders Merchants’ premises and the Manhattan Peanuts site are close to the proposed Luas stop at St Margaret’s Road.
In its court documents, Brooks Timber & Building Supplies and Downshire Propco say that ACP’s omission of permission for an access road at Broombridge Road – agreed in the plans for the development following consultation between the firms and TII – renders the decision void.
Brooks Timber & Building Supplies’ business in Cabra West is currently accessible via Broombridge Close, off Ballyboggan Road. It made submissions to TII following concerns that the Luas extension works would impact the ability of heavy goods vehicles to access the premises.
Brooks Timber & Building Supplies and Downshire Propco also say ACP’s decision interferes with their property rights under the Constitution.
The cases will return later this month.
The Luas line extension was designed with four stops, running north from Broombridge, to St Helena’s in south Finglas, an area dominated by two-storey social housing developments largely built in the 1970s; then on to Finglas village; next to St Margaret’s Road, which will serve the new Jamestown housing development and existing estates; before terminating close to the M50 at Charlestown, an area dominated by a shopping centre and high-density apartment schemes built over the past 20 years.
