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Appeal No. VA05/3/011
AN BINSE LUACHÁLA Filmbridge Ltd. APPELLANT RE: Club House, Golf Driving Range, Sports Centre,
Store at B E F O R E JUDGMENT OF THE VALUATION TRIBUNAL By Notice of Appeal dated the 9th day of July, 2005, the appellant appealed against the determination of the Commissioner of Valuation in fixing a rateable valuation of €1,980.00 on the above described relevant property. The Grounds of Appeal as set out in the Notice of Appeal are: There is also an issue with the calculation of the floor areas of the
property by the Valuation Office (which has been mentioned at first appeal
stage)." The Property Concerned Location The golf and country club stands on about 220 acres of land and encompasses an 18-hole championship golf course, designed by Seve Ballesteros and Jeff Howe. It is part of a multi-million euro investment which includes a 5-star hotel with 100 bedrooms, the Thatch Public House, a spa, a leisure centre, a swimming pool, a gymnasium etc. and a substantial residential development. The clubhouse is one of the largest in Europe. The property is of the highest quality and has an excellent finish throughout. The clubhouse has three floors; the ground floor lower comprises changing
rooms for members and visitors, male and female toilets and showers, caddy
master's store and buggy room, conference room, offices, dry goods stores
and cold room. The first floor comprises restaurant dining rooms, male and female toilets, holding kitchen and terrace overlooking the course. There is also a crow's nest viewing area approached by a spiral staircase. The clubhouse has a gross external floor area of 3,238.10 sq. metres. It is of concrete block construction with plastered and painted elevation and a pitched slate roof. Internally the building is finished to a high standard. The bowling facility is a single storey structure, extending to a gross external floor area of 2,321.59 sq. metres with a tubular steel roof. The bowling area includes eight indoor rinks together with a bar and changing rooms, with a small lobby and office to the front of the building. This facility interconnects with the clubhouse at ground floor level. The golf school or academy is a separate single-storey building of 348.95 sq. metres of concrete block construction with painted elevations and a pitched slate roof. Internally it is finished with plastered and painted walls, carpeted floor covering and suspended ceiling tiles with insert lighting and comprises an entrance lobby and office, waiting area, servery and store, male and female toilets and practice room. The building interconnects with the driving range which has ten tee boxes overlooking a 9 hole golf course. The driving range comprises 362.25 sq. metres. The outbuildings include a tractor store, an office, a canteen, a WC, stores and two steel containers. The tractor store is 448.10 sq. metres. The office is 84.60 sq. metres and the first floor store is also 84.60 sq. metres. The two steel containers are 28.80 sq. metres combined. Services Tenure Areas Rating History The Appellant's Evidence Clubhouse 3,238.10 sq. metres @ €39.28 per sq. metre = €127,
192.56 Mr. Ó Cléirigh in support of his opinion of net annual value confined his evidence to the following. Location Tourist Destination Buildings On Site In support of his opinion of net annual value Mr. Ó Cléirigh introduced 5 comparisons details of which are set out in Appendix 1 attached to this judgment. His comparison No. 5 is the Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise, Co. Laois. The main hotel block has a rateable valuation of €40.54 per sq. metre. He said that this was appealed to the Tribunal (VA03/2/017 - GMK Enterprises Ltd.) but was settled by agreement between the parties before hearing and that the settlement equates to a 10% loading on the higher end of the prevailing rate per sq. metre for other hotels in the county. He said that he would adopt a similar approach in the assessment of the clubhouse and had allowed a 10% loading to the upper end of the prevailing clubhouse rate in the County. Mr. Ó Cléirigh said that membership subscription was €40,000 and Green Fees €110. He believed the K Club subscription for 50 years was €250,000 with €80,000 green fees. He again emphasised that County Laois was not a tourist area and that this had had an adverse bearing on the club. Mr. Tom Millan, CPA, said that he was secretary of the company and that the membership fee was €40,000 in redeemable preference shares, redeemable on request and that the annual subscription was €1,000 plus VAT. He said that the bowling complex was built to encourage people to play bowls, particularly in bad weather when golf was not available. He further stated that they had researched the number of people in England playing bowls at 2 million and that they had employed an agent in England to bring their facility to the attention of these players but with little success. In 2004 they had 1,900 players bringing in an income of €14,000. They had come to the conclusion that the employment of an agent in England was not beneficial and had cancelled his contract. He would, in comparison, rate the K Club at 10 out of 10 as the best club in Ireland, and said that they would rate their own club at 6 out of 10. He maintained that residential property must be available with the club. They were selling three-bedroom detached dwellings at €675,000 whereas the K Club were offering deluxe apartments at €1.2 to €1.5 million. Filmbridge Ltd. was promoting the Club as a golf and country club. Cross-examination by Mr. Fahey Mr. Ó Cléirigh agreed that the subject property was one of the largest in Europe and was of the highest quality. He reiterated that the Clubhouse was 2.5 miles from the motorway and that access was fragmented and along country roads. He said that 220 acres was dedicated to the club. Respondent's Evidence Determination 1. The level on the bowling facility should be lower than the level on the clubhouse. 2. The fact that the Heritage Golf and Country Club was in a poor tourist area had little or no bearing on the financial success of the club. It is situated in the midlands and close to Dublin. The membership is full and the club is well known in the golfing world as a championship course, as it hosted the AIB 2005 Irish Senior Open this year. 3. The demand for bowling appears limited both in Ireland and England. The market has been tested and found wanting. 4. It would be difficult to let the bowling premises situated where it is and it would be of limited use to interested tenants. Having regard to the foregoing the Tribunal determines the rateable valuation of the property to be €1,825 calculated as set out below:
And the Tribunal so determines. |