Approaching 15 years in business, Agri Design & Planning Services (ADPS) is an award-winning company providing its clients with a reliable and independent service from initial discussion to first use.
Based just outside Clonmel in Co. Tipperary, ADPS offers a nationwide service that has expanded beyond its dairy roots in recent years. As a dairy farmer and architect, owner and founder Aidan Kelly has an innate understanding of the industry and everything that’s needed to bring a milking parlour or any farm building from concept to completion.
“We’re going from strength to strength,” Aidan enthuses.
“I came home after two-and-a-half years in Australia in 2010 and did my first agri planning job for a neighbour. Another neighbour then asked me to do a job for him, and it grew and grew from there through word of mouth. We’re now up to 180-190 projects a year with planning applications in every county. We’re doing an awful lot of work at the moment up along the West coast where the grant aid system has come into play and is attracting young people back to the farm.
“If you have well-planned and -designed facilities, it makes work and life a lot easier.”
While dairy-related projects continue to account for a large part of his business, Aidan also has clients in the beef, equestrian, housing, commercial and biogas sectors.
“We were 90% dairy work at one stage, but the sector has slowed down due to new nitrates derogation regulations and the rising costs facing new entrants. It now costs in the region €5,500 per cow to get into dairy which isn’t feasible for many,” he reveals.
“So we’ve gone back to doing a lot of beef units along with 10-12 new one-off houses per year, a small bit of commercial work and equestrian work, which we’ve seen a big increase in thanks to generous new grants for stables, sand arenas, exercise areas and dung steads. There is grant aid of 60% available on projects up to €80,000 in value which many small horse owners are availing of.
“As well as developing our equestrian business, we’re currently working on two or three anaerobic digesters which is another growth area for us. We like to keep our options open.”
The main services provided by ADPS are: full planning applications; applications and drawings for exempted developments; exemption certification; applications for retention; preparation of reference department costs; milking parlour layouts; cubicle housing designs; cattle slatted housing; equestrian, sheep and goat housing; hay barns and storage shed (grain storage); stable design; underpass and bridges over rivers; GPS farm mapping; farm roadway and paddock designs; water infrastructure layout and farmyard redesigns and site surveys.
When it comes to building a new dairy unit, there are many things to be considered and decided upon before you start, including building location, internal layout, building size, site levels existing and proposed, relationship to other buildings, proposed costs, parlour type and size, planning approval, services, water, electricity, drainage existing and proposed, ventilation if for stock, access for both vehicular and stock, cow flow around the buildings and parlour.
ADPS takes away all the hassle and has the experience and expertise to offer the best options and advice available to the customer within their budget.
Aidan admits that the process of securing grant aid, planning permission and bank finance is rarely straightforward. He would also like to see an increase in the grant limit for dairy farmers who are currently paid 40% grant aid towards the cost of pre-approved completed investments of €80,000 under the TAMS scheme.
“You need a lot of patience because of the amount of red tape involved,” the affable Tipp man points out.
“Planning accounts for 95% of my work and my advice to clients is to allow for six-to-seven months for this. If there is an objection to An Bord Pleanala, it could take one or two years to get planning. There are a number of serial planning objectors to proposed farm developments out there who can put a spanner in the works very easily and hold the planning process up.
“With many dairy projects now costing over €1 million to complete – your typical milking parlour will set you back €450,000 – the current grant limit is way too low in my opinion. It should be raised from €80,000 to €150,000. The pig industry got the limit raised to €300,000. It’s a drop in the ocean. I can’t understand either why it takes six months for grants to be authorised after planning permission is granted.
“It delays the building further.”
Aidan set up a green field dairy himself in 2013 which has grown in tandem with his design and planning services firm.
“We’re currently milking 190 cows which is the number we had set out to reach when we started,” he explains.
“My parents Richard and Cathy, and wife Seána, are also involved in the dairy enterprise which wouldn’t function without Aidan Savage, our farm manager. Aidan looks after most of the farm work and I honestly wouldn’t be able to run the two businesses without him or the support of my parents, Seána and our children.
“My biggest selling point is that I’m a farmer myself. I can have a conversation about everything and anything with a farmer.
“The other thing is the wealth of experience that I’ve gained over the years. I will offer the best advice I can and try to be as cost-effective as possible for my clients. Much of our work is costing and working things in. I’m very conscious of the fact that the last two years have been very tight for farmers and that there is an onus on me to reduce their costs where possible.”
Complete customer satisfaction has always been the number one priority for Aidan who would like to take this opportunity to thank his valued clients and suppliers for their continued support.
Agri Design & Planning Services (ADPS)
Molough,
Newcastle,
Clonmel,
Co Tipperary.
Telephone: 085 746 6211
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.adps.ie
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 12 No 4, November/December 2024
Agri Design & Planning Services, Featured
