Appeal No. VA97/6/033
AN BINSE LUACHÁLA Castlecool Ltd. APPELLANT RE: Cold stores at Lot No. 1, Drumillard Little (part
of), B E F O R E JUDGMENT OF THE VALUATION TRIBUNAL By Notice of Appeal dated the 17th day of October 1997 the Appellant appealed against the determination of the Commissioner of Valuation in fixing a rateable valuation of £500 on the above described hereditament. The grounds of appeal as set out in said Notice are:- "The valuation is excessive, inequitable and bad in law when rental levels and other factors are taken into consideration." The relevant valuation history is that the Local Authority in 1995/3 requested a revision of the subject premises and a rateable valuation of £500 was fixed. This was appealed in 1995/3 and the Commissioner of Valuation issued his decision leaving the valuation unchanged. The premises comprises a purpose built cold stores with ancillary blast freezers, loading area, offices, plant rooms and yard/marshalling area located 1 mile north of Castleblayney on Monaghan to Derry Road. A written submission prepared by Mr. Tadhg Donnelly of Brian Bagnall & Associates on behalf of the Appellant was received by the Tribunal on 13th May 1998. Mr. Donnelly's written submission stated that a fair rateable valuation of the subject premises would be £365. Mr. Donnelly's written submission contained a schedule of seven comparisons. A written submission prepared by Mr. Patrick McMorrow, B.Ag.Sc.(Econ), G.Dip. P & D Economics, a Valuer in the Valuation Office on behalf of the Respondent was received by the Tribunal on 14th May 1998. Mr. McMorrow's written submission contained a schedule of three comparisons. Arising from the written submissions the following areas had been agreed by the parties: Offices 1,115 sq.ft. The appeal proceeded by way of an oral hearing which took place in the
Circuit Court, Monaghan on the 27th May 1998. In this case a written submission
had been prepared by Mr. Tadhg Donnelly of Brian Bagnall & Associates.
However at the hearing Mr. Brian Bagnall appeared as a witness for the
Appellant. The Respondent was represented by Mr. Patrick McMorrow. Mr.
McMorrow had no objection to the evidence being given by Mr. Bagnall. In his sworn testimony Mr. Bagnall dealt with the comparisons contained in the written submission prepared on behalf of the Appellant. Mr. Bagnall stated that the basis for his valuation of the subject premises were the Tribunal decisions in VA96/3/037 - Norish (Castleblayney) Limited and VA96/2/043 - Autozero Limited. In further evidence, Mr. Bagnall stated that what he had already described as mezzanine storage space, should be valued at £1 psf. In his sworn testimony, Mr. McMorrow adopted his written submission as his evidence to the Tribunal. In his evidence he dealt with his comparisons. He stated that C. & M. Coldstores was his preferred comparison. The Tribunal has considered the written submissions and the oral evidence
given by both parties. The essence of the argument advanced by the Appellant
was that the decision in VA96/3/037 - Norish (Castleblayney) Limited case
and VA96/2/043 - Autozero Limited case, were the base lines from which
he had produced his valuation. The Tribunal considers that the Norish
and Autozero properties are very much larger than the subject premises
and in fact are not a useful guide in arriving at a decision here. The
Tribunal considers that in arriving at the decision it should start with
the first comparison produced by the Respondent namely C & M Coldstores.
The Tribunal has decided therefore that it will determine the NAV for
the subject premises on the following basis:- The Tribunal therefore determines the rateable valuation of the subject hereditament at £455.
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