Service station plan stopped in its tracks by Dromoland Castle
Clare County Council has refused Applegreen planning permission to construct a motorway service stop on the Limerick-Ennis motorway, in close proximity to the castle.
Dromoland Castle Holdings Ltd had made a strident objection to the development.
The National Roads Authority and Ennis Chamber of Commerce also raised concerns over the proposal.
Applegreen’s most recent accounts show that pre-tax profits more than halved to €1.7m in 2013 as revenues increased slightly to €86.56m.
In its objection, Dromoland stated that the proposed development would lead to an unco-ordinated provision of such services on the M18 which would be contrary to the proper planning and development of the area.
Dromoland pointed out that the planned development site would be 200m from the estate and 600m from its main entrance and “the potential effects of the development, in the absence of any planned identification or requirement for this activity as this location, may result in unnecessary adverse effects on the visual amenities of the area and the visual integrity of tourism and recreational facilities”.
Dromoland said that if the proposal was allowed to proceed, it was likely to lead to a proliferation of such facilities inconsistent with the plan-led approach in the Ennis and environs draft local development plan.
