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Appeal No. VA95/1/023 AN BINSE LUACHÁLA Allied Irish Bank, Navan APPELLANT RE: Bank at Map Ref: 5 & 6, Trimgate Street, B E F O R E JUDGMENT OF THE VALUATION TRIBUNAL By Notice of Appeal dated the 7th day of April, 1995 the appellant appealed against the determination of the Commissioner of Valuation in fixing a rateable valuation of £570 on the above described hereditament. The grounds of appeal as set out in the Notice of Appeal are that: The Property: The premises consists primarily of a combination of two, three and four storey blocks with pitch tile roof, the three storey sections fronting Kennedy Road and four storey sections fronting Trimgate Street. The accommodation areas are as follows:- Ground Floor: Main banking hall, Interview rooms, ATM rooms (2), Valuation History: Written Submissions: In his written submission, Mr. Killen set out the description and valuation history of the subject premises. Mr. Killen appended to his written submission location maps for use at the hearing. Mr. Killen said that following discussions with the Commissioner of Valuation at First Appeal stage the floor areas of the bank had been agreed as follows:- Ground Floor 4,989 sq.ft. - Banking areas etc. Commenting on the subject premises, Mr. Killen said that the facilities provided were in keeping with owner/occupiers development and redevelopment of banking premises in other provincial centres. Mr. Killen said that in calculating his estimate of net annual value/rateable valuation he had had regard to the statutes, i.e. Section 11 Valuation (Ireland) Act 1852 and Section 5 Valuation Act 1986. He said that in the absence of actual rental evidence he considered the comparison method of valuation appropriate. Mr. Killen set out his calculation of the net annual value/rateable valuation of the subject premises as follows:- Gr. Floor Banking Hall etc. 4,989 sq.ft. @ £10.50 p.s.f. £52,385 Mr. Killen also gave details of comparable premises situated in Drogheda and Portlaoise which had been recently revised, appealed or determined by the Tribunal as follows:- (1) Drogheda: (b) Ulster Bank, West Street, Drogheda, Co. Louth Devalues: (2) Portlaoise: Devalues: (b) Bank Of Ireland, Main Street, Portlaoise, Co. Laois. Devalues: A written submission was received on the 28th September, 1995 from Mr. Pat McMorrow, B.Ag.Sc.(Econ), Dip. Planning and Devmt. Econs., and Valuer with the Valuation Office on behalf of the respondent. In his written submission, Mr. McMorrow set out the description, location and valuation history as set out above. Commenting on the subject premises, Mr. McMorrow said that the bank was in a prime location, with dual frontage, attractive modern architectural features and a full height atrium over ground floor main banking hall, all of which gave the bank a unique ambience and undoubted superiority over other provincial banking premises. Mr. McMorrow set out his calculation of the net annual value/rateable valuation using three methods as follows:- (A) Method A. (Zoning); Kennedy Road (94ft gross frontage) Total 4,989ft2 First Floor 2,509ft2 @ £ 7.50/ft2] Total NAV £118,125 Total NAV £113,576 1991 Construction cost £1.2m Total Cost, adjusted to 1988 £1,422,000 NAV, using a Composite Capitalisation Rate of say 10% £142,000 NAV £142,000 Taking A, B and C above, NAV £114,000 is considered reasonable. Mr. McMorrow also gave details of two comparable banking premises which have been appended to this judgement as Appendix A. Oral Hearing: In advancing his case for a rateable valuation for the subject of £370, Mr. Killen referred to his submission in detail and in particular made the following points: 1) The site was purchased in 1990 for £328,000 and the construction
costs were £1.24m. Mr. Pat McMorrow responded on behalf of the Commissioner of Valuation and referred in detail to his submissions. In particular, he pointed out that the subject is a "newly constructed state of the art bank" in the centre of Navan. Many facilities including a lift, are incorporated into this purpose designed bank, a feature which would be very difficult if not impossible to accommodate in older or more traditional buildings. He also emphasised the design which was used by the Architects, pointing out that it trades "quantity" for "quality" and thereby reduced the net lettable areas which he considered were more valuable as a consequence of this design option. Mr. McMorrow pointed out this is a prime retail location at a focal corner position connecting Trimgate Street and Kennedy Road. Frontages are to both of the streets with 54 feet and 94 feet respectively, giving this building a dominant position. He also pointed out that this is a third generation building built to the highest standards with air conditioning and many other modern features. The building costs devalued at £120 per square foot which compares with £45-£55 per square foot for most commercial buildings. Mr. Des Killen pointed out that the zoning method was not suitable in this instance. He stated that the subject is not a shop and emphasised again the importance of the AIB comparison in Portloaise. Mr. Pat McMorrow pointed out that the subject is a far superior premises to any of the comparisons submitted by Mr. Killen and wondered why no local comparisons had been used by him. He pointed out that Market Square is not a similar location to the subject. A series of photographs were submitted to the Tribunal and comments were made by both sides. Determination: Having regard to the foregoing and all the comparisons and evidence offered, the Tribunal fixes the valuation of the subject at £505 and so determines.
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