Appeal No. VA94/1/027
AN BINSE LUACHÁLA Dunnes Stores Limited APPELLANT RE: Shop at Map Ref: 63-65, O'Connell Street, B E F O R E JUDGMENT OF THE VALUATION TRIBUNAL By Notice of Appeal dated the 6th day of May 1994 the appellant appealed against the determination of the Commissioner of Valuation in fixing a rateable valuation of £1,600 on the above described hereditament. The grounds of appeal as set out in the Notice of Appeal are that: The Property: Valuation History: Written Submissions: He said that he had assumed a ratio of N.A.V. to R.V. of 0.4% as determined
and presumably applied by the Commissioner. He said that it was a modern
retail facility built to a good standard of finish and decoration. He
said that Ennis was a good provincial town with a population including
environs of approximately 16,000 people. He said that the premises was
not in a "designated area" and that the large section of the
town to the east which was so designated had attracted considerable commercial
development. He said that O'Connell Street was a narrow street with one
way traffic only permitted. He said that the shop lacked prominence and
visibility thereby reducing opportunity for passing trade. Mr. McMillan
set out a number of comparisons of both rentals and net annual values
in his written submission and also supplied a summary schedule of the
comparisons as set out below:
Mr. McMillan said that his estimate of rateable valuation on the subject
premises was as follows:- A written submission was received on the 13th of January 1995 from Mr. Brian O'Flynn, a District Valuer with 19 years experience in the Valuation Office. In his written submission, Mr. O'Flynn described the property and set out the considerations which he had applied in assessing the rateable valuation on the premises. He said that to determine the net annual value on the premises particular regard had been had to the rateable valuation on the Penneys/Quinnsworth supermarket in Ennis. He said that his valuation had reflected the location off O'Connell Street, in a prime retail area with excellent car parking in the development. He gave details of the valuation as follows:- Nett Supermarket Retail ground floor: 57,340 @ £6.00 = £344,040 Mr. O'Flynn also assessed the valuation on the subject premises at a ratio of R.V. to N.A.V. of 0.5%. The conversion he said of net annual value to rateable valuation based on 0.5% was as follows:- Net annual value of £415,672 as set out above at 0.5% = £2,080 rateable valuation. Mr. O'Flynn said that in assessing rateable valuation on the 0.5% fraction he had given proper consideration to the findings of the Valuation Tribunal in VA92/3/007 - AIB -v- Commissioner of Valuation which had determined that it was necessary to estimate a rateable valuation based on a uniform fraction. Mr. O'Flynn quoted VA92/6/029 - MF Kent & Company and VA92/2/052 & VA92/2/053 - Molloy Brothers Limited as further evidence of the views of the Tribunal that a uniform 0.5% should apply in county areas. Mr. O'Flynn gave four comparisons which are summarised below:- Comparison No. 1 Shop: 6,254 square feet @ £7.20 p.s.f. = £45,029 Comparison No. 2 Shop: 10,688 sq. ft. @ £7.20 p.s.f. = £76,954 N.A.V.: £92,365 @ .4% = £365.00 Comparison No. 3 Lot 24A Lot 24a Lot 19a.20a.21a Total rateable valuation £2,095 Comparison No. 4 Shop: 20,990 sq. ft. @ £6.00 p.s.f. = £125,940 £133,088 N.A.V. buildings @ 0.5% =£665.00 Oral Hearing: It emerged from the evidence that there were three areas of dispute between
the parties, namely:- Insofar as the measured area is concerned the Tribunal proposes to compromise the figures given by each party, by taking the appellant's retail area and the respondent's measurement for the other areas. Insofar as the fraction is concerned, Mr. Killen submitted that in three cases in Ennis the .4% fraction was applied and that the Commissioner of Valuation had carried out research which indicated a fraction of 0.4%. Mr. O'Flynn cited cases where .5% applies. The Tribunal is satisfied that the balance of evidence suggests that the appropriate fraction is 0.4%. On quantum the Tribunal took account of the fact that Dunnes Stores is
very well located, just off the centre of Ennis, which is County Clare's
major town with a population of about 16,000 people including environs,
to "hoover" or attract business from adjacent smaller towns.
The premises is a purpose built modern supermarket and is constructed
to a high specification illustrated by the reported cost of about £80.00
per square foot for construction and with adjacent car parking for 387
cars. Mr. McMillan presented the Tribunal with a wide range of comparative,
notional supermarket rents from Munster and other southern locations which
were of assistance to the Tribunal. Mr. O'Flynn referred to the notional
rents obtaining in the other two supermarkets in town and to net annual
values applicable in comparative supermarkets in Limerick which were noted
by the Tribunal. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||