A Limerick city landowner’s legal challenge against municipal property tariffs has backfired significantly after An Coimisiún Pleanála reviewed the case. Instead of reducing the financial burden for Thanos Securities Limited, the appeals body determined the original bills were miscalculated, doubling the total owed to €140,000.
Thanos Securities Limited and An Coimisiún Pleanála
When Thanos Securities Limited took its case to An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP), the firm aimed to overturn vacant site tariffs tied to its long-held property at 34-41 Catherine Street.
Rather than securing relief, the appeal triggered a reassessment by an ACP inspector. The oversight body concluded that the local authority had incorrectly calculated the annual fees. By applying the statutory rate of 7 per cent to the site’s revised €1 million valuation, the inspector ruled that the charges should have been set at €70,000 for each year, doubling the overall liability to €140,000.
Peter McVerry Trust and Catherine Street
Thanos had argued before the planning board that the prominent city-centre location was neither vacant nor idle, pointing to active site management between 2019 and 2023. The landowner noted that scaffolding and hoarding went up in 2022 for enabling work. Furthermore, the company maintained that the former pub, nightclub, and newspaper facility served as a construction compound starting in early 2023 to assist nearby building projects undertaken by the Peter McVerry Trust alongside the local council. The appellant also challenged the valuation assigned to the property.
ACP dismissed these arguments, holding that temporary use as a staging area for external construction did not alter the property’s official vacant status. While the board’s inspector acknowledged that the appearance of the site had improved, she noted that the structures inside remained undeveloped and significantly detract
from the surrounding neighbourhood.
The 0.2-hectare site sits within Limerick’s historic Georgian quarter. Records show it has been subject to vacant site levies since the 2020, 2021, and 2022 tax years, which were calculated using an earlier €500,000 valuation established in 2019. Within three years, the estimated worth of the property doubled, driving up the subsequent tariff calculations.
Limerick City and County Council
The Catherine Street site carries a lengthy history of stalled proposals stretching back to 2004, when an initial demolition bid for numbers 34 through 36 was blocked on architectural heritage grounds. Subsequent approvals were granted to prior owners in 2006 and 2008 for retail, office, and residential combinations, while Thanos itself secured permission for offices and 48 apartments in 2020.
The property’s deterioration led to severe regulatory intervention in 2019, when An Coimisiún Pleanála—operating under its previous title at the time—authorized Limerick City and County Council to compulsorily acquire the property. The board observed then that the row of buildings had deteriorated into a neglected, unsightly and objectionable condition
. Thanos countered that move with a High Court challenge in 2020, which was subsequently adjourned generally in March of that year with no further court appearances recorded.
76 Apartments on the Land
Despite the ongoing disputes over levies and past acquisition efforts, the regulatory landscape shifted last May when the local authority approved a comprehensive plan to develop 76 apartments on the land. The approved scheme involves demolishing several structures while preserving numbers 35 and 37 Catherine Street as protected edifices, which are slated for refurbishment and conversion into residential units.
