DUBLIN Airport bosses have successfully stalled plans for a massive private car park near the terminal.

Park Developments, a major construction company, had wanted to build the car park on a stud farm in North Dublin.

Fingal County Council had given the company permission for the plan, which would have seen 2,715 car park spaces built on land at Old Stockhole Lane in Cloghran.

But the DAA, which runs Dublin Airport, appealed the decision to An Bord Pleanala, citing an infringement of its property rights.

And the board agreed with the DAA's objections, ruling that the project could not go ahead.

The airport argued the proposed upgrade of Old Stockhole Lane, which formed part of the plan, "may require the use of a portion of DAA-owned lands".

"This would constitute an infringement of DAA's property rights and therefore the subject proposal may not be implementable from a legal point of view in the absence of our consent," the DAA stated.

The planners stated that, due to the slower growth in passenger numbers through the airport, there is a "reduced need for additional parking facilities".

SLASHED

It stated it was "not satisfied" additional long-term parking was "either necessary or appropriate".

The proposed development "would tend to create traffic congestion, militate against the use of public road transport and be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area".

The falling demand for parking at the hub was highlighted earlier this year when parking rates were temporarily slashed.

The DAA, which operates about 21,000 parking spaces at the airport, cut the price of long-term parking in half as a response to a reduction in the fee charged by private operator QuickPark.

QuickPark, which has 3,500 spaces on a 29-acre site close to the airport, cut its charge to €5 a day from €7.50 daily.

The fee was introduced in March for online bookings, prompting a response from the DAA. Competition between car park operators at Dublin airport has intensified as passenger traffic has declined.

Car parks have been a lucrative business for the DAA over the past decade as passenger numbers soared in line with economic growth. Last year, it was revealed that the DAA earned €52m in 2007 from its car parks in Dublin, Cork and Shannon. This was roughly 8pc of the DAA's overall turnover.

Dublin airport is believed to account for about 75pc of the DAA's car parking revenue.

comurphy@herald.ie

- Cormac Murphy