South Dublin County Council is due to confront property developer Jim Mansfield in the High Court today. Frank McDonald, Environment Editor, outlines the background to a planning enforcement case surrounding Weston Aerodrome.
Early last month, South Dublin County Council initiated legal action in the High Court over a range of unauthorised works carried out by Mr Jim Mansfield at Weston Aerodrome, near Lucan, after he bought it earlier this year for €12.7 million. It is seeking an order to have all such works halted and unauthorised structures demolished. This is the latest in a series of planning controversies involving one of the biggest property developers in south Dublin.
It was the Falklands War that provided Mr Mansfield with the seed funding for expansion into property development. For he made millions from buying up all ancillary equipment used by the British forces to retake the islands in the south Atlantic and selling it on to others.
His Citywest Hotel complex in Saggart has become the favourite venue for the annual ardfhesiseanna of the State's two main parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, though it was built on foot of a series of retention permissions for unauthorised works carried out in breach of the Planning Acts.
These developments were not just minor alterations, but included entire new bedroom blocks. The hotel was also built without a commencement notice, in contravention of the 1990 Building Control Act, for which Mr Mansfield's company, HSS Ltd, was fined £20 and ordered to pay £300 in costs in 1997. Mr Mansfield also pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations in the construction of an "apart-hotel" scheme at Citywest in June 2000. HSS Ltd had continued work despite a prohibition notice served by the Health and Safety Authority. It was fined €7,330 and had to pay €2,330 in costs.
South Dublin County Council never took enforcement action while the various phases of the Citywest complex were under construction in the 1990s, despite a recommendation by a senior planner that "the strongest possible enforcement proceedings" should be taken to halt unauthorised developments on the site.
During most of that time, Mr Frank Kavanagh was county manager. Since his retirement 10 months ago, Mr Kavanagh has been working for Mr Mansfield as a consultant and was involved in lobbying councillors to adopt a material contravention of the county plan to facilitate Mr Mansfield's latest scheme in Saggart.
This plan, approved by 20 votes to five on October 14th, is for a "golf village" with an 18-hole golf course, clubhouse, 75 "golf apartments", nearly 11,000 sq ft of "designer outlets" as well as artists' workshops, a thatched restaurant and heritage museum, all built in "Old World" style on a site opposite Citywest. The site, on Fortunestown Lane, had been zoned as part of the green belt separating the village from Tallaght. It also lies within the Recorded Monument of Saggart Village, so the requirements of Dúchas, the Heritage Service, will have to be met.
The 20 conditions laid down by South Dublin County Council require HSS Ltd to submit revisions to the design of the five blocks proposed to "simplify the range of building materials and architectural styles" for written agreement "prior to commencement of development". Eight other conditions are similarly worded.
County council officials are well aware of Mr Mansfield's record as a persistent offender against the planning laws. His earliest scheme, a shopping centre on the former Clondalkin Paper Mills site, was also in breach in that the Camac river was culverted as it ran through the Dunnes Stores carpark.
Last July, the council accepted an undertaking from HSS Ltd in the High Court to cease carrying out extensive alterations to Tassagart House, a protected structure, which had been done without permission. If it failed to do so, Mr Mansfield would face possible commital to prison and/or other sanctions.
In August, an enforcement notice was served on HSS Ltd for non-compliance with 11 of 20 conditions in a planning permission for the "apart-hotel" at Citywest, all of which were meant to be addressed "prior to commencement of development". A compliance submission is currently being examined by the planners.
In September, replying to Cllr Derek Keating (Ind), who called for a report on "unresolved enforcement issues" involving Mr Mansfield and his companies, the county manager, Mr Joe Horan, said the council was also investigating the installation of a helicopter landing area and hangar at Citywest without planning permission.
The unauthorised works at Weston Aerodrome, which are due to be the subject of today's hearing, included a new car park in excess of 5,000 sq metres, reconstruction of hangars to a larger footprint, extension of a former bungalow on the site, including a first-floor viewing gallery and new control tower, and the installation of a new fuel tank and sewage treatment plant, according to the council.
Mr Mansfield told The Irish Times all works carried out at Weston were "temporary" and, therefore, exempted development. When he bought the aerodrome, it was "an absolute shambles" and he was trying to "tidy the place up". However, he accepted he was "in breach" by not notifying the county council in advance.
Cllr Paul Gogarty TD (Green Party) said the developments carried out at Weston "spit in the face of democracy". What had been done there was "an example of big business thinking they can walk all over people". He wanted to see all the unauthorised structures "torn down" and the pre-existing situation reinstated.
The only dissenter from the proposal to take High Court action was Cllr Colm McGrath (Ind), who said the officials should "hold fire for the moment". He warned that it "could cost us a couple of hundred grand to find out we're wrong - that would provide \ ramps in 50 \ estates around the county".
Mr McGrath, who has admitted receiving money from Mr Frank Dunlop at the time of the Quarryvale rezoning in 1993, runs a company called Essential Services Ltd, which has a contract to provide security at the Citywest Hotel complex. He did not declare this interest before voting for the material contravention.
Cllr Catherine Murphy, a Labour member of Kildare County Council, said the Weston case raised more than just the issue of flouting the planning laws.
"Here you have training flights going over people's houses. The primary consideration with an airfield must be safety - it's a matter of life or death," she added.
Residents on the perimeter of the aerodrome lodged an objection with the Irish Aviation Authority against the renewal of Weston's licence, claiming that two of its terms have been breached. At issue is the failure to remove one of the existing hangars on safety grounds and the location of the fuel tank close to a runway.
Mr Mansfield's other big project is outside Naas, Co Kildare. In 1999, he bought Palmerstown Stud, on 700 acres, for £10 million (€12.7 million) with the aim of turning it into a second Citywest. Plans included a 300-bedroom hotel, conference centre, business park, housing and a golf course. The site, located just outside Naas town boundary and with Goff's equestrian sales centre nearby, was the subject of a planning application in early 2000 which was withdrawn last June after it became clear the planners had reservations about it. A new application was submitted last July for a somewhat less ambitious scheme.
While this application was under consideration, site development works were put in hand, including drainage. The golf course was nearly finished by the time an enforcement notice was served in early summer. Mr Mansfield was warned any further development would jeopardise his application, which is due for decision.
A huge mound of earth - up to 50 feet high, according to Cllr Mary Glennon (Ind) - was heaped up to the rear of Goff's. The former stud owned by Ms Ann Bullet Biddle has been inspected very carefully over the past few months to ensure the enforcement order is observed. At his meetings with council officials to discuss the scheme, Mr Mansfield has been accompanied by Mr Kavanagh, who was Kildare county manager from 1993 to 1996. Within days of leaving office as South Dublin county manager on January 1st last, he was back with Mr Mansfield across the table from his former officials.Such switching of sides is not prohibited by any code of ethics, so Mr Kavanagh is within his rights to act as a private consultant. South Dublin County Council says it will draw up a written protocol for the guidance of members and staff in dealing with former officials "interfacing with the council on behalf of outside interests".
Members of both councils received presents from Mr Mansfield last Christmas - a bottle of whiskey and a voucher for dinner for four at the Citywest Hotel. Two weeks ago, he invited the South Dublin councillors to Weston Aerodrome in an effort to persuade them that the works he had carried out there were exempt; six showed up.
Cllr McGrath agreed with him and sought to persuade fellow councillors to take the same view while he lobbied them in favour of the Saggart scheme. So did Mr Kavanagh.
The mayor, Cllr Jim Daly (FF), adjourned consideration of the item - number two on the agenda - until there were enough members present to vote on it.
By taking Mr Mansfield to the High Court three times so far, South Dublin County Council officials appear to be disproving the conclusion of the Ombudsman, Mr Kevin Murphy, that there is "a marked reluctance on the part of local authorities" to enforce the law, such that the planning system is in "a state of collapse".