Supermac’s owner gets go-ahead for new M7 services

Supermac’s owner, Pat McDonagh, has secured planning permission for a new €10m motorway services plaza on the M7 near Portlaoise, despite claims it will lead to the creation of two rival operations within 150 metres of each other.

An Bord Pleanála has rejected an appeal by Petrogas, the fuel group and the parent company of service station operator, Applegreen, against the plans for the new facility by the well-known Galway businessman.

Petrogas had also recently secured planning approval for a filling station and shop a short distance away at the other side of Junction 17 of the M7 near Togher, Co Laois next to the Midway hotel and food court complex.

It appealed the decision of Laois Co Council to grant planning permission for the new motorway services site to Mr McDonagh on the basis that it was already meeting the need for a motorway services areas at the location.

Petrogas said its facility at the Midway site would become “a de-facto off –line” motorway services area with the addition of the filling station.

It claimed the development of a second plaza would result in a proliferation of such facilities at the junction which would confuse motorists and be contrary to national planning policy.

The company said allowing two different motorway services providers to operate at the same junction was unprecedented in Ireland and an undesirable development.

Transport Infrastructure Ireland, which oversees the country’s motorway network, also expressed reservations about the new plaza but did not appeal the council’s ruling which Petrogas said was “remarkable” given TII had objected to plans for its filling station at the Midway complex.

While Petrogas acknowledged that An Bord Pleanála had no role in restricting competition between service providers, it said the Midway complex had struggled since its establishment to achieve a sustainable level of business.

It claimed the situation had improved in recent times with Dalata taking over the management of the hotel and Petrogas taking over the operation of the food court and it was now a vibrant stopping-off point on the M7 with plans to increase parking areas for HGVs.

But it warned that allowing Mr McDonagh’s motorway plaza could threaten its future.

“The likelihood is that Midway will suffer significantly in terms of attracting customers and this could ultimately lead to the closure of the food court or filling station,” Petrogas said.

Consultants acting for Mr McDonagh claimed Petrogas’ appeal was “vexatious” as it had a long history of opposing planning applications by its competitors.

The new motorway plaza will have a two-storey building with a shop, food court, communal seating area and drive-thru facility with parking for 144 cars, 20 HGVs and 10 coaches.

In granting planning permission for the project, An Bord Pleanála said it had taken into consideration the policy of the Laois County Development Plan for a national enterprise park and a motorway services area at Togher.

Subject to a number of planning conditions, the board said the proposed development would not be prejudicial to public health and would be acceptable in terms of traffic safety and convenience.

An inspector with An Bord Pleanála said the two motorway services operations could not be considered in the same category as the Midway complex had limited HGV and coach parking.

The inspector said the Midway complex was located on the N77 Portlaoise-Abbeyleix road which meant it would be more likely to capture local trips than the new facility Mr McDonagh, already owns a number of motorway services areas including the Barack Obama motorway plaza near Moneygall, Co Offaly.

The new development at Togher is expected to create up to 140 jobs when operational and another 80 during the construction phase.