Aviation company’s plan takes off
Apex Aviation Ltd has received conditional planning permission for a new facility at Nenagh’s Lisboney Business Park.
The company is to construct five detached commercial buildings on a 5.9ha site owned by Tipperary Co Council. These are to comprise an aircraft engine maintenance building and aircraft engine storage facility, both with associated office space, along with three detached warehouse buildings, among other works.
Providing maintenance services at Shannon Airport for Airbus and Boeing aircraft, Apex Aviation has operations at Birdhill and at the former Procter &Gamble/Coty site in Gortlandroe. The company currently employs a staff of 51.
In correspondence with the council, it stated that the aircraft engine maintenance building at its new facility would be used the same way as currently carried out in Gortlandroe, along with the addition of more in-depth maintenance of engine modules. The storage building is to also have a logistics function to allow for the shipping of engines and components.
“Building # 3, 4 and 5 will be offered to the aviation industry, in particular companies who will complement Apex and/or current customers for expansion purposes,” the council was informed.
The company furnished the local authority with further information after a number of submissions were made on the plan. Inland Fisheries Ireland raised concern over the long-term management of stormwater infrastructure. A submission in the name of Michael Duffy of Kilfenora, Co Clare, objected to the development on environmental and ecological grounds, while also suggesting that that the council had a conflict of interest in determining the application as landowner. Another submission in the name of Kieran Hogan of Allied Metal Recycling (Ireland) Limited, stated that his company owned the property and buildings on the boundary of the site. He expressed concerns over a “significant difference in site levels between our property and the proposed development”.
The council granted planning permission subject to 17 conditions, among them a stipulation that details of the end users for the three warehouse buildings be submitted for the written agreement of the planning authority prior to the units being occupied.