FINGAL COUNTY COUNCIL has refused planning permission to plans by Dublin Airport operator DAA for a new staff car park comprising 950 spaces.

The airport operator was seeking planning permission for a westwards extension of the existing Holiday Blue long term car-park off the Old Airport Road for the additional 950 “airport staff car parking spaces”.

In response to the Council concerns at pre-planning stages, DAA representatives told the Council that the proposed car-park “is the minimum number of staff car parking spaces required to meet existing demand”.

DAA also stated that the proposal represents a like-for-like replacement of existing employee car parking spaces displaced from developments that have occurred across the airport campus.

However, in a comprehensive rejection of the proposals, the Council has refused planning permission on three grounds, including that the planned car park proposed would be premature pending the determination on the planning application concerning the ongoing planned infrastructure upgrade works to Dublin Airport lands.

The Council states that the proposal cannot be considered in isolation and in the absence of the necessary upgrade to Dublin Airport’s external road network, and upgrade to pedestrian or cycle infrastructure along the R108.

The Council also pointed out that the set is zoned enterprise and employment under the Fingal Development Plan, 2023-2029.

The Council stated that as a result, the proposed development “would materially contravene the ‘GE’ zoning objective which seeks to ensure that GE zoned lands are developed for intensive employment purposes”.

The planning authority also refused planning permission after pointing out that the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) submitted “is deficient in information and has not adequately or sufficiently considered reasonable alternatives to the proposed development”.

The Council stated that “in addition potential impacts on bats and birds were not considered sufficiently or potential impacts on climate/climate change. In the absence of same, the planning authority is unable to determine that the proposed development is acceptable on environmental grounds”.

A spokesman for DAA said today that it was “very disappointed” with the Council refusal.

“Dublin Airport is a 24/7 operation and requires sufficient parking spaces for staff of all companies working at the airport to operate efficiently,” he said.

“The proposed car park would not have resulted in additional staff spaces; it would have merely replaced spaces that were previously available but were removed to make way for airport development.”

The spokesperson said the new site would also have helped reduce traffic entering the Dublin Airport campus every day by operating as a “park and ride”.

He added: “There were no objections from the National Transport Agency (NTA) or Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).

“We are very disappointed by Fingal County Council’s refusal to grant planning permission and are currently evaluating further options.”