Sandyford businesses say increased levies will harm growth

Investors will avoid south Co Dublin in favour of other parts of the capital if a plan goes ahead to increase development levies in Sandyford by nearly half, local businesses have claimed.

Residential development levies for Sandyford Business District, near Leopardstown Racecourse, are set to increase by 47 per cent a unit in 2016, going from €8,580 to €12,588.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council levies on new offices and industrial premises will increase 28 per cent to €127.10 per sq m. The levies are required to provide the infrastructure needed for growth in the area, the council said. The rest of the council’s area will be unaffected by the increases.

Vote

Councillors will meet county chief executive Philomena Poole to discuss the proposals before a vote takes place on December 14th.

Describing the proposed increases as “anti-development”, the Sandyford Business Association said they should be “rejected totally”, since offices would attract levies 71.5 per cent higher than anywhere else in Co Dublin. “This is a very significant issue for the Sandyford Business District and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown in the wider context,” said the association’s chairman Dan Holland.

Fine Gael councillor Maria Bailey also criticised the proposals but said councillors are likely to wait to hear from Ms Poole before deciding how to vote.

“Recovery is still quite fragile and we shouldn’t be separating Sandyford from other commercial areas and making it far more expensive. Inevitably people will move to the other side of the city,” she said.

The council said Sandyford Business District, which has about 22,000 employees, could grow by a further 17,500 jobs and 1,500 homes. “This requires investment in infrastructure to support that growth. Without this investment growth potential [in the Sandyford Business District] would be very limited.”