Property developer Gerry Gannon has secured the approval of An Bord Pleanála to continue to operate a temporary car park next to Dublin Airport for at least another seven-year period.
The 41-acre park has 6,240 individual parking spaces and is leased to QuickPark, the Irish-based company run by businessman John O’Sullivan.
Gannon set a precedent when he originally got planning permission for the park despite strong opposition from Aer Rianta, which took the issue to the Supreme Court. Up to then the semi-State body had a virtual monopoly on parking adjacent to the airport. At the moment the Dublin Airport Authority rents 3,000 short-term spaces and 19,000 spaces for long-term parking. A number of hotels within the vicinity of the airport have also begun operating small-scale car parks in recent years to supplement their revenues.
The Gannon-owned car park has been trading exceptionally well since it opened because of its keen terms – it is currenly charging an on-line rate of €7 per day – and the fact that it is more convenient than most of the other car parks. QuickPark operates a 24-hour shuttle bus to the airport terminal every five minutes. The journey to the terminal can also be completed in five minutes. Gannon bought the 41.8 acres for the park in two lots at a figure reported to have been €400,000 per acre. The second parcel of land was acquired from the Royal College of Surgeons.
The proposed Metro North rail service has designated a site next to the car park as one of its principal stops to and from the airport. One of the conditions of the most recent planning approval by An Bord Pleanála is that Gannon’s company should provide facilities for the charging of electric cars in the car park.
