Appeal No. VA94/3/026
AN BINSE LUACHÁLA Duggan Steel (Ireland) Limited APPELLANT RE: Factory and yard at Map Ref: 5b Dublin Road, B E F O R E JUDGMENT OF THE VALUATION TRIBUNAL By Notice of Appeal dated the 26th day of October 1994 the appellant appealed against the determination of the Commissioner of Valuation in fixing a rateable valuation of £550 on the above described hereditament. The grounds of appeal are that the valuation is excessive and inequitable, having regard to the provisions of the Valuation Act and on other grounds also. The Property: Access to the site is provided via a service road to the side which leads directly onto the public roadway which is the main Dublin/Kilkenny road. The ancillary buildings used as offices, canteens and stores are constructed with concrete block walls, fair faced brick cavity walls, painted concrete floor and lean-to metal deck roof. Eaves height is c. 8 feet. Valuation History: An analysis of the original R.V. £290 yields the following N.A.V.: Factory & Offices - 18546 square feet @ £2.50 per square foot
= £46,500 N.A.V. say £58,000 x 0.5% O.V. = £290.00 Tenure: Written Submissions: Lean-to reception/offices 1,500 square feet Mr. Davenport set out a number of factors effecting value which are summarised below: 1) the building is a basic warehouse building in use as a steel stockist, constructed about 15 years ago. There is no heating in the main warehouse building. The original construction costs of the building, including all site development costs, was £347,000, which equates to £17 per square foot. The most recent extension constructed in 1992 of about 8,500 square feet cost £90,000 (£10 per square foot). 2) The office accommodation is totally inadequate and suffers from a distinct lack of natural lighting. 3) Although the property has main road frontage, the building is set back 100 feet from the public roadway. Mr. Davenport said that it was the intention of Kilkenny County Council Planning Department to limit the profile of the building as much as possible. He set out a number of conditions effecting the profile of the subject building. 4) The building is a basic industrial unit and the principal of "Rebus Sic Stantibus" must apply. 5) The activity being carried on is purely industrial. The building was specifically designed and constructed as a steel stockholding facility in conjunction with the business of the importation, storage and distribution of steel. Mr. Davenport argued that the business activity generated by Duggan steel was not increased because of its location directly onto the public roadway as it did not depend on passing traffic. Mr. Davenport set out his estimate of the net annual value and rateable valuation on the subject premises as follows:
Estimate of Rateable Valuation: Mr. Davenport offered comparisons within the I.D.A. Industrial Estate in Kilkenny and from other industrial locations throughout the country. These are summarised below: 1) Kilkenny People Limited, I.D.A. Industrial Estate, Purcell's Inch,
Kilkenny. 3) W. & H. Steel and Roofing Systems, Castlecomer, County Kilkenny. A substantial complex of buildings, totalling about 50,000 square feet of offices and warehouses with extensive concreted yards on a site area of about 6.5 acres. Rateable Valuation £300 - 1993/1 Revision. The entire property was sold in July 1993 for IR£160,000 representing IR£3.25 per square foot capital value, or 46p per square foot rental value. 4) Heatlogs Limited, Tullamine, Callan, County Kilkenny. Property sold in late 1994 for IR£150,000, equivalent to £3 per square foot capital value or 40p per square foot rental value. 5) Factory at Bagnelstown, County Carlow. 6) Former Williams Group Factory At Charleville Road, Tullamore. 7) Factory at Lisbunny Industrial Estate, Nenagh, County Tipperary. 8) Kayfoam, Woolson, Naas Road, Kilcullen, County Kildare. 9) Brooks Thomas, Naas Road, Dublin 12. Devalues at: 10) P.W.A. International Limited, Naas Road, Saggart, County Dublin. Tribunal judgment as follows: A far superior building to the subject premises. 11) Gilbeys of Ireland Limited, Western Industrial Estate, Naas Road,
Dublin 12. He said the property was sold in late 1992 for £2 million, equivalent to a capital value of £27 per square foot. A written submission was received on the 20th February 1995 from Mr. Philip Colgan, District Valuer with 27 years experience in the Valuation Office, on behalf of the respondent. Mr. Colgan described the property and its valuation history. Commenting on the appellant's grounds of appeal, Mr. Colgan said that the difference between the subject premises and the comparisons offered by the appellant is the location. Mr. Colgan said that there was no comparison between frontage onto a national primary route on the edge of the city of Kilkenny and the more rural locations offered by the appellant. He said that the comparisons offered in the old Fielderest factory near the subject premises suffered from the difficulty of being located one mile from the main road and consequently there was difficulty in letting them. He said further that all facilities were shared by a considerable number of occupiers including parking, circulation areas, effluent treatment etc. He said that the appellant's complex is immensely superior. Mr. Colgan said that the subject was a modern industrial building with a roof height of approximately 30 feet with unrestricted circulation inside and reinforced floors. Primarily he said that the appellants failed to recognise the location with extensive frontage onto a national primary route surrounded by industrial and commercial properties such as machinery and car sales businesses gave the subject premises an annual value far in excess of that of any of the comparisons offered. Mr. Colgan suggested that the property would make a record price if it was put up for sale to reflect its obvious potential as an industrial/commercial building. Mr. Colgan set out his assessment of the rateable valuation on the subject premises as follows: Offices 1,650 square feet @ £3.00 square foot = £ 4,950 N.A.V. say £110,000 X 0.5% R.V. = £550.00 Mr. Colgan offered four comparisons summarised below: 1) Telecom Eireann 6E.8C/62.63.64.65.66.67 Leggetsrath West (pt of),
Kilkenny Rural Offices 5554 square feet @ £3.00 square foot = £16,362 N.A.V. say £110,000 X 0.5% R.V. = £550.00
N.A.V. say £60,000 X 0.5% R.V. = £300.00 3) Stainless Steel Fabrications Limited 4 Leggetsrath West, Kilkenny
Rural Offices 2350 square feet @ £3.00 square foot = £ 7,050 N.A.V. say £142,000 X 0.5% R.V. = £710.00
Offices 3500 square feet @ £4.00 square foot = £14,000 N.A.V. say £32,000 X 0.5% R.V. = £160.00 Finally, Mr. Colgan said that the comparisons he had listed were all in a nearby industrial estate, but would not have the location and all the advantages that the appellant's property had. Oral Hearing: Mr. Davenport's evidence was in accordance with the written submissions. He took exception to some of the Commissioners comparisons on the basis that the valuations were the subject matter of appeal. Mr. Duggan gave a history of the company, it's business and location. The square foot measurements produced by the parties differed somewhat and the same were agreed at the conclusion of the hearing on the basis hereinafter set out. Determination: Warehouse 30,000 @ £1.75 = £52,500 Say = £70,000 Rateable valuation is, therefore, determined at £350.00
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