McEvaddy cargo hub at Dublin Airport turned down by An Coimisiún Pleanála

An Coimisiún Pleanála refused cargo hub planning permission
Site partially located on proposed third terminal footprint
Proposal would prejudice orderly airport development
DAA submission opposed lack of air transport infrastructure
350 jobs including 200 warehouse and 150 office roles

An Coimisiún Pleanála has refused planning permission for DA Terminal 3 Ltd’s proposed cargo hub development on the western campus of Dublin Airport, upholding Fingal County Council’s earlier decision to refuse the project. The scheme comprised four aviation-related cargo-handling units to operate on a 24-hour seven-day-a-week basis with ancillary office space on a site at Huntstown, Swords, and was to employ 350 people comprising 200 warehouse jobs and 150 office jobs. The commission concluded that the subject site is partially located on the footprint of a possible location for a third terminal at Dublin Airport and would prejudice the orderly development and continued growth of the airport.

ACP stated that the proposed development would comprise a piecemeal and ad hoc speculative proposal and would fail to safeguard the operation and development of the airport, also finding that the proposal would not accord with the DA Dublin Airport zoning objective as set out in the Fingal County Development Plan 2023-2029. The commission determined that it cannot be satisfied that the proposed development individually or in combination with other plans or projects would not result in adverse effects on the integrity of any European site or give rise to a risk of deterioration in the chemical or quantitative status of groundwater bodies.

The refusal followed a submission from Dublin Airport operator DAA, which argued there are clear concerns that the proposed development does not provide air transport-related infrastructure, with the units presenting as standard warehouses that do not have the specific characteristics of air cargo handling warehouses and an absence of connection to or integration with the airport. The 30-acre application site represented the first phase of a 123.5-acre site owned by DA Terminal 3 Ltd, with longer-term proposals including the development of Terminal 3 for Dublin Airport. The commission refused planning permission on the grounds of airside integration absence, isolated and speculative nature and vehicular distances required to access the cargo area.

Desmond McEvaddy shared “The refusal represents a setback for the western campus development at Dublin Airport, with the proposed cargo hub having been designed as the first phase of a larger aviation-related project that would have created substantial employment.”

An Coimisiún Pleanála commissioner shared “The proposed development has been refused on the grounds that it would prejudice the orderly development and continued growth of Dublin Airport, including provision of a third terminal, and would fail to safeguard the operation and development of the airport.”