Rovers to challenge council on stadium

Shamrock Rovers Football Club has secured leave from the High Court to bring a challenge to South Dublin County Council's refusal to extend a grant of permission to allow completion of the club's new 10,000-seater stadium in Tallaght.

The club now has the necessary financing in place to complete the stadium and, if it secures the necessary permission, hopes to finish the development within a year and a half, Mr James Macken SC told Mr Justice McKechnie yesterday.

The pitch was ready and in excellent condition and it was only a matter of getting the stands up, he added.

Mr Justice McKechnie granted leave to Branvard Limited, trading as Shamrock Rovers Football Club, and Slonepark Limited, which is a leaseholder of the property at Tallaght town where the stadium is being developed, to bring judicial review proceedings aimed at overturning South Dublin County Council's decision on December 14th last refusing to further extend the period for completion of the stadium development.

Mr Macken said permission was secured in 1998 for development of the 10,000-seater stadium. A legal challenge had delayed the development somewhat but work did begin and a considerable amount of works were undertaken at a cost of €4 million.

In September 2003, the council granted an extension of the permission but, because of financing difficulties, no further works were achieved before the expiry of that extension on October 31st last. Before that expiry date, the club had, on October 21st last, sought a further extension to allow completion of the development.

However, on December 14th, the application for that further extension of time was refused. The council had stated that the club had not advanced sufficient information to warrant a further extension.

In its challenge to that refusal, the club contends that the council, under the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, was required but had failed to seek further information from the club as to the reasons why it was seeking a further extension of time for completion.

It argues the council acted unreasonably and in breach of natural justice in failing to give the club an opportunity to address the perceived infirmities in the application for an extension of permission.

In an affidavit, Mr Anthony Maguire, a director of Branvard Ltd, said that after the council had granted in September 2003 an extension of time for completion of the development, work did not recommence due to problems encountered in putting the necessary finance into place.

However, he said, the issue of funding had now been largely resolved and a commitment had been received from investors, led by Mr Conor Clarkson, to fund the completion of the project.