Traditional industrial estates in south Dublin are to be transformed into high-tech industry and office parks following a decision by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. The council has approved changes to its development plan which will allow the development of office-based industries on lands zoned for industrial use.
The council will also now consider planning applications for private office developments in the same areas. A council planning official said the move was as a result of the changing forms of employment in the economy, and to encourage growth in these sectors in the council area.
There is also the potential for considerable extra revenue from rates with the rapid development of office blocks in areas such as Leopardstown Business Park, Sandyford Industrial Estate, and the new development at Cherrywood in Loughlinstown. Typical rates yielded on a high quality 40,000 sq ft office building in Sandyford would be around £120,000 per annum. There is increasing competition between local authorities around Dublin to attract office developments into their areas, both in terms of the potential jobs and revenue they may bring the council from property rates. Dun Laoghaire Rathdown's decision recognises that many jobs in high-tech and computer industries, which may be classed as industrial, take place in what would typically be regarded as an office setting with employees working on computers at desks.
The move will regularise the current situation which has seen a number of companies permitted to develop office-type facilities on land zoned for industrial use with only ancillary office space. Microsoft's operation at Sandyford Industrial Estate is a good example of a new industry whose work mainly takes place in office surroundings.
The new office-based industry category will better reflect the nature of the work that takes place in these facilities.
The decision to consider applications to build private offices in lands previously zoned for industry will potentially allow companies to develop corporate headquarters in these areas, or for ancillary professionals like solicitors and accountants to be located near clients. Any office space will be considered that will not have regular use from members of the public.
The changes reflect Ireland's shifting economic base as traditional industry dries up and the computer-based industries become the focus for development. Big computer and high-tech industries prefer out-of-town campus sites to the already crowded city centre. Eoin Conway of Mason Owen Lyons says there has always been a problem in securing commercial and industrial land in south Dublin. "In areas like Citywest and Swords Business Park, councils have been ahead in allowing companies to set up in industrial zoned land, and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown should try to keep up as there is certainly the demand."
As councils compete to attract in new office developments, there is a danger of planning being granted haphazardly and without the proper infrastructure, particularly transport, in place. According to Roland O'Connell of Hamilton Osborne King, the pendulum has swung from a situation where only very limited office building was allowed in suburban areas, to the current rapid sprouting of offices outside the city centre.
He says there is a lack of will to group offices in specific areas and ensure there are adequate public transport links to get to the sites.
Office developments involve a far greater number of people working than in the equivalent industrial space, and with cuts in the number of car-park spaces allowed in developments, it will become crucial that they have adequate transport infrastructure.
Larry Butler, chairman of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, is confident that the transport infrastructure issue has been addressed in Dun Laoghaire. The proposed Luas line will service the Sandyford Industrial Estate, and may eventually extend as far as Cherrywood. There are also plans to extend the QBC running from Foxrock into town as far as Shankill.
In recent years, companies have been taking up any office space that became available because of the short supply. However, as more new office space comes on stream, they will become more choosy about where they locate - and about the type of facilities which will be needed to attract staff. Developments with poor public transport access, few shopping and leisure facilities nearby for staff, or not located near large residential areas are likely to be the first to encounter difficulties should the market take a turn.
