Flynn Hotel Group must pay €210,000 vacant site levy for Kilkenny land

The owners of the Flynn Hotel Group have lost an appeal against paying a vacant site levy of €210,000 on land adjoining the Newpark Hotel in Kilkenny.

An Bord Pleanála upheld a decision by Kilkenny County Council to demand payment of the levy from Newpark Hotel Limited.

The board rejected the hotel’s argument that notices requesting payment of €105,000 for 2019 and 2020 had been sent to the wrong owners of the land. The levy is charged at 7 per cent of the value of the site, estimated to be worth €1.5m.

The hotel, located on the Castlecomer Road in Kilkenny, is part of the Flynn Hotel Group, which also owns the Imperial Hotel in Cork, The Park Hotel in Dungarvan and The Old Ground Hotel in Ennis.

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An inspector with An Bord Pleanála, Stephen Rhys Thomas, noted the hotel’s owners had not challenged a letter sent by the council in late 2018 notifying them of the proposed addition of the land to the local authority’s vacant site register.

In its appeal, Newpark Hotel said the site in question is in the ownership of another company called Duesbury. It said this meant it could not appeal the notices it had been sent by the council.

Newpark Hotel said it and Duesbury are separate entities, although it acknowledged both companies are part of the Flynn Hotel Group.

Kilkenny County Council said a planning history of the site showed Newpark Hotel had applied to develop the land from at least 2008. Council officials said they had taken all reasonable efforts to establish ownership of the site, noting the lands were unregistered. They also argued that any change of ownership between companies within the same group was considered to be an issue “that would not escape the charge.”

Newpark Hotel said the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015, which provides for the vacant site levy, did not state that one company under the umbrella of another could be charged the levy.

Mr Rhys Thomas said the company did not at any time correct the record in relation to the land’s ownership and he observed that an appeal was only being made now as the matter had “financial ramifications”.

The inspector said he was satisfied that the site was correctly entered on the council’s register.

He also pointed out that the physical condition of the site had not been altered since it was placed on the register.