Board rule extractor fans on bakery are exempted development

Board rule extractor fans on bakery are exempted development


Anton McNulty

AN Bord PleanΡla has ruled that the construction of extractor fans to a Castlebar bakery was exempted development and there was no unauthorised development to the building.
The planning issue surrounded the construction of extractor fans to the outside of the premises which formerly operated as Moran’s Bakery on the Newport Road and was now operating as MMM Family Bakery. There were also question marks raised regarding unauthorised development on the site and the intensification of use of the premises in a residential zone.
The matter was brought to the attention of Castlebar Town Council and An Bord Pleanala (ABP) by resident, Gerard Rooney who submitted five questions to the Board under the provisions of the Planning and Development Act. The questions included whether the extractor fans were deemed exempted development or not, and if planning permission had been granted for the re-commencement of commercial activity on the site.
A meeting to investigate the matter took place in the Harlequin Hotel in Castlebar on January 26 last and was attended by representatives of ABP, Mr Rooney, Paul and Michael Basquille, owners of the site and Tom Higgins, Castlebar Town Engineer.
The bakery was established in 1937 and baking recommended on site in 2006 and after an initial staff of three, there are 16 employees including bakers, delivery drivers, assistance and packers on site, with output production doubling.
The noise from the extractor fan has become a substantial issue since March or April 2008 and Mr Rooney noted that operations were taking place on Christmas day and around the Christmas period including New Year’s Eve. He argued that as operations previously did not take place on such dates this in itself constituted an intensification of use.
The original bakery was established in 1937 and in 1987, a new roof was put on the building. It was claimed the footprint of the building was not altered during this time and Mr Higgins confirmed there was no planning history associated with the site.
Mr Michael Basquille stated that at no time has the bakery gone unused since the commencement of the Planning Act and at no time neither had an abandonment of use taken place for any period of time.
Mr Basquille stated that currently the bakery in the main distributes to one or two large supermarkets and that results in the use of larger trucks operating from the premises on a more infrequent basis.
In his submission, Mr Rooney stated that he also contended that the premises was rebuilt on a larger footprint than that which originally occupied the site and had personal recollections of being in the bakery when it was a much smaller building than that currently on site. 
Mr Rooney said noise mitigation measures could be employed in order to reduce noise from the extractor fans and that Castlebar Town Council should enforce the Regulations in accordance with the Planning Acts.
Mr SeΡn Higgins stated that there was no evidence to suggest that the building had changed over the previous 25 years. He added that an extractor fan to the rear of the premises did not alter the external structure of the building and therefore did not require planning permission.
In his conclusion, Mr Paul Caprani, Senior Planning Inspector with ABP stated that the current development on site is not unauthorised by reason of an intensification of use occurring on site, an abandonment of use at any stage during the life of the activity on site or that the structure is unauthorised. He added that the extractor fans do not materially affect the external appearance of the structure and found they constitute development which is exempted development.