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Appeal No. VA08/5/113
AN BINSE LUACHÁLA Mr. Jim McGonigle APPELLANT RE: Property No. 2185828, Retail (Shops) at Clondalkin Travel Centre, No. 4 Tower Road, Clondalkin, County Dublin B E F O R E JUDGMENT OF THE VALUATION TRIBUNAL By Notice of Appeal dated the 29th day of July, 2008 the appellant appealed against the determination of the Commissioner of Valuation in fixing a valuation of €49,800.00 on the above described relevant property. The grounds of Appeal are set out in the Notice of Appeal and in a letter attached thereto, copies of which are attached at Appendix 1 to this judgment. The appeal proceeded by way of an oral hearing, which took place in the offices of the Valuation Tribunal, Ormond House, Ormond Quay Upper, Dublin 7, on the 24th October, 2008. The appellant was represented by Mr. Patrick O’Dwyer, MIAVI, APCS, O’Dwyer English Auctioneers, 19 Main St, Clondalkin, Dublin 22. The respondent was represented by Mr. Damian Curran, MRICS, ASCS, a Staff Valuer in the Valuation Office. In accordance with the Rules of the Tribunal, the parties had exchanged their respective précis of evidence prior to the commencement of the hearing and submitted same to this Tribunal. At the oral hearing, both parties, having taken the oath, adopted their précis as being their evidence-in-chief. This evidence was supplemented by additional evidence given either directly or via cross-examination. From the evidence so tendered, the following emerged as being the facts relevant and material to this appeal. At Issue Quantum. The Property The subject property is described as a modern, ground floor, purpose built retail unit in a building reconstructed in the mid 1990’s. The upper floor of the building comprises three separate units with independent access provided from the ground floor and was not the subject of appeal. The building is a two storey, end of terrace, commercial premises with the ground floor trading as a retail travel agency under the name and style of Clondalkin Travel Agency. The building faces on to Main Street, Clondalkin which is described as a mixed retail office and residential neighbourhood in the central business district of old Clondalkin Village which lies approximately 10km south west of Dublin City Centre. The front elevation of the building features two large display windows. The structure is built of concrete block with brick cladding, concrete floors, timber frame windows, and a slate hip roof on timber trusses. Tenure Services All mains services including power, water, foul and storm sewer, telephone. The building is served with warm air central heating and is considered to be in good structural and decorative order. Area Agreed by the parties at 82.85 sq. metres. Valuation History & Relevant Dates The property was the subject of a Revaluation carried out in the Dublin South County Council area and a Proposed Valuation Certificate issued on the 5th June, 2007 with a valuation of €49,800. February, 2008: Appeal filed with the Commissioner of Valuation.
Valuation Contended for by the Respondent at Tribunal Appellant’s Case Mr. O’Dwyer took the oath, adopted his précis as his evidence-in-chief, and provided the Tribunal with a review of his submission. At the outset he remarked that the Valuation Office had erred by relating the valuation of the subject to methodology adopting a zoning approach in terms of Zone A, which in his view failed to consider market rental conditions at the relevant valuation date in the Clondalkin Village area. Mr. O’Dwyer explained that the passing rent on the subject premises as of September, 2005, i.e. the relevant valuation date would have amounted to a sum of €34,900 p.a. and that the Open Market Rental Value (OMRV) would have risen to €40,000 p.a. as of October, 2008. Mr. O’Dwyer also argued that the Commissioner of Valuation should have considered the usage of a travel agency as part retail and more akin to office use and noted that the planning granted by the Local Authority on the subject is for office, rather than retail use. Comparison 1 He stated that this premises had a current rent of €20,000 p.a. on approximately 28 sq. metres, fronting on to Tower Road which he concluded reflected a Zone A rental equivalent of €715 per sq. metre. He noted that in the Revaluation exercise carried out by the Valuation Office the valuation figure applied as of September, 2005 amounted to €20,400 p.a. Comparison 2 Again considering the current rent passing of €36,000 p.a. on this 81 sq. metres retail unit in the Monastery Shopping Centre, the agent estimated that the Zone A rate per sq. metre in this premises would calculate at €700. However he acknowledged that he was not privy to the passing rent at the relevant valuation date of September, 2005. Comparison 3 Mr. O’Dwyer described this premises as commanding a prime location at the junction of Main Street and Monastery Road, purpose built and concluded that a passing rent during March, 2006 in the sum of €20,538 p.a. on the 42 sq. metres amounted to an equivalent Zone A rate of €675 per sq. metre. Comparison 4 Acknowledging this premises as his firm’s trading headquarters, Mr. O’Dwyer confirmed that O’Dwyer English Auctioneers were paying a rent of €13,200 p.a. in this converted building with its large ground floor double frontage in a prime position on Main Street, Clondalkin. Citing this comparison property as having similar characteristics to the subject, being formerly residential and recently converted to commercial use, Mr. O’Dwyer contended that the passing rent on their office premises would provide an equivalent Zone A rental of €259 per sq. metre on circa 32.4 sq. metres. The agent reiterated his view that this property was superior in terms of location and profile to the subject premises enjoying the considerable advantage of a higher profile than that available for Clondalkin Travel on Tower Road. Mr. O’Dwyer emphasised that the main point of his evidence was to highlight the wide variance of rental values for retail properties in the centre of Clondalkin Village. He declared that the rate per sq. metre applying to Zone A retail premises ranging from €750 on Tower Street to €850 on Main Street, as calculated by the Valuation Office, was “unjustified, unfair and inequitable”. He concluded that the passing rent on the subject in September, 2005 at €34,900 represented a Zone A equivalent of €584 per sq. metre. He explained that in the village centre very few retail units are alike, with many being quite small and converted from former residential use and stated that some purpose built infill development occurred in the village core in the 1980’s. Mr. O’Dwyer said that his client felt very distressed at the prospect of the annual rates bill increasing on his premises from a sum of €1,680 when he acquired the leasehold interest in 2003, to a current level assessed at circa €8,000 p.a. and argued that a travel agency business should not be considered in a retail category for rating purposes. The agent then addressed the ten points set out in summary format in his précis (and in a letter accompanying the Notice of Appeal, attached at Appendix 1 hereto) repeating his views that the current valuation is excessive and inequitable, and added that:
Cross-examination by Mr. Curran Mr. Curran addressed his queries to Mr. O’Dwyer, who in turn replied/affirmed as follows:
Respondent’s Case Mr. Curran took the oath, formally adopted his précis as his evidence-in-chief and reviewed his submission. He circulated a copy of two Clondalkin Village Ordnance Survey maps for the assistance of the Tribunal, with the consent of the appellant, which were marked up to indicate Zone A values established during the Revaluation of South County Dublin, relating to the old village centre of Clondalkin ranging from €600 to €850 per sq. metre Zone A. He explained the manner in which the hierarchy of Zone A values were derived following an analysis by the Valuation Office of passing rents as of September, 2005. He outlined his own work on about 200 commercial properties in Clondalkin Village and stated that, having analysed the passing rents on the retail units there, he concluded that one side of the Main Street set the highest Zone A value of €850 per sq. metre though directly opposite, because of dereliction and limited number of units combining with a predominance of residential properties, those few remaining shops lying on the south side of Main Street had a Zone A rental calculated at €600 per sq. metre. Mr. Curran offered an explanation as to how the increments in Zone A values were determined by the Valuation Office in various locations within the village having regard to agglomeration of retail units, propinquity of car parking, the location of the main thoroughfare, profile, mix and range of retail services being offered together in the village with empirical market rental data applicable, as at September, 2005. He noted that the subject located on Tower Road was determined to have an equivalent Zone A rental value of €750 per sq. metre while acknowledging that two detached retail units in poor condition across Tower Road were deemed to carry a Zone A value of €650 per sq. metre. The respondent also confirmed that the net internal area of the subject was agreed with the appellant at 82.85 sq. metres with the Zone A element at 37.88 sq. metres. Mr. Curran stated that the passing rents on Main Street, Clondalkin in September, 2005 ranged from €700 per sq. metre up to €1,300 per sq. metre and the OMRV at the same time on Monastery Road for retail units ranged from €750 to €900 per sq. metre Zone A. He contended that property identified as comparison No. 1 in the appellant’s précis carrying a valuation of €20,400 p.a. in 2005 would have a Zone A rating of €900 per sq. metre. He provided the Tribunal with a brief description of each of the four comparable properties outlined in his précis and attached herewith as Appendix 3, namely: Bank of Scotland Ireland, Tower Road; Bernardo’s, Main Street; Hibernian Auctioneer’s, Tower Road; and Kevin Cribbin Butchers, Tower Road, citing Zone A rents of €750 per sq. metre on the Tower Road premises and €850 per sq. metre at Barnardos on Main Street. Mr. Curran repeated that the Zone A rents were derived from an analysis of market rents as at the relevant revaluation date, which created the Valuation List. Of the approximately 200 properties valued in Clondalkin, he stated that just three properties were being appealed to the Valuation Tribunal, the subject being one. He acknowledged that parking is a problem in Clondalkin Village but a problem for all with limited paid and free parking facilities in the area. Cross-examination by Mr. O’Dwyer In reply to questions raised by Mr. O’Dwyer, Mr. Curran advised the following:
In concluding his evidence Mr. Curran reiterated that the principle of rebus sic stantibus was followed by the treatment of the subject premises as a retail unit, that all provisions of the Valuation Act, 2001 were followed by the Commissioner of Valuation and the practice of applying the zoning method to the retail units was employed as part of the exercise to make relative rents within the Clondalkin Village area. Statement by the Appellant Upon request Mr. McGonigle addressed the Tribunal, having taken the oath, and outlined a range of trading difficulties for retailers in general and for himself in particular, in the old village core of Clondalkin, citing the lack of availability of parking as of particular concern. He stated that he believed that he was poorly informed and advised by the Valuation Office, and made reference to two letters which he said contained statements to the effect that the Valuation Office had erred in the past in the manner by which the rates were levied on his premises. He expressed serious concern as to the apparent circa 400% increase in rates liability now faced by Clondalkin Travel Agency on an annual basis. His request to circulate copies of the two copy letters was declined by the Tribunal. This decision had regard to the Registrar’s written request to the appellant’s agent dated 8th September, 2008 requesting submission within a determined time frame of all relevant information to the Tribunal. As,
the Tribunal did not admit copies of the letters into evidence. Findings
Conclusion Having regard to all of the foregoing and the provisions of the Valuation Act, 2001 the Valuation Tribunal considers that the valuation of the subject property should be calculated by reference to the valuation date of the 30th September, 2005 on the following basis: And the Tribunal so determines.
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