Fingal County Council has expressed reservations about Dublin airport’s intent to augment parking for existing airport staff, as DAA proposes a 950 space car park. In preliminary planning discussions, the council expressed difficulty in supporting the proposal, citing the national policy’s inclination towards public and eco-friendly transport methods and the reduction of private vehicle use.
The council conveyed that the notion of a new staff car park contradicts numerous development goals outlined in the Fingal Development Plan and Local Area Plan. Consequently, the Council views this proposal as a significant breach of these plans.
Moreover, the planning authority expressed scepticism on the validity of the justification for the proposed car parking areas as substitution parking spaces. It opined that this assertion did not provide substantial ground to back up the proposed magnitude of parking.
Earlier this month, DAA submitted a planning application to the council, seeking permission for the provision of 950 additional “airport staff parking” spaces via a westward extension of the existing Holiday Blue long-term car-park.
When presented with the council’s preliminary apprehensions, the airport operator’s delegates maintained that the proposed car-park would satisfy the existing demand with “the minimum required staff car parking spaces”.
The Dublin airport operator insisted that the proposal was not for extra parking but to accommodate existing staff parking, which is a critical factor of airport operations.
The dialogues between the council and the operator were detailed in a 32-page planning report attached with the application by Coakley O’Neill Town Planning Consultancy, acting on behalf of the DAA.
In their report, Coakley O’Neill noted the past decade’s airport expansion has seen several staff car parks swallowed up by other projects. The firm predicts that the trend will continue as the airport grows, necessitating further displacement of staff parking and causing issues within the central campus.
The firm added that the relocation-induced loss of staff car parking spaces was contributing significantly to the high-pressure management of remaining parking assets and airport operations.