Boxd coffee is refused permission for Carrigrohane Straight Road drive-thru

Owners say they will appeal the decision

The outlet on the Carrigrohane Road continues to operate.

The owners of the Boxd Coffee chain say they are disappointed with Cork City Council's decision to refuse them planning permission to retain their drive-thru on the Carrigrohane Straight Road.

The popular outlet has operated at the location for the past six years, but the business was issued with a warning letter by the Council earlier this year. Boxd subsequently lodged a planning application seeking retention permission for the development. However, in a decision this week, planners in City Hall refused permission for the development.

It is the second planning refusal the Cork cafe chain has received in recent weeks after Cork County Council refused permission for a similar drive-thru in Midleton. The company opened that drive-thru on the outskirts of the East Cork town earlier this year. However, they were forced to close the business in June due to planning concerns and subsequently lodged retention permission, which was turned down earlier this month.

Cousins Michael Harding and Aidan Kiely, who founded the coffee chain, said they will be appealing the decision in relation to the Carrigrohane Road outlet, which continues to operate.

"We are naturally deeply disappointed by Cork City Council’s decision to reject our application for the redevelopment of our site in Carrigrohane.

"The Council’s main concern was cited as traffic. We proposed an increase in drive-thru capacity from 10 cars to 40. This 300% increase was far more than we would ever need," they said in a statement.

They also criticised the planning process and said there needed to be more opportunities for businesses to engage with planners on such issues.

"For businesses that are creating local employment, working with local suppliers and investing heavily in their communities, there really needs to be a clear channel of communication with the local authorities," they said.

"There should be an opportunity for businesses and the Council to discuss concerns, understand the issues being raised and, where possible, make improvements to proposals that are beneficial to all sides. That communication link simply has not been there in our experience. We believe this represents a significant disconnect between businesses and local authorities, and ultimately creates unnecessary barriers to investment and growth."

"Cork has a strong drive-thru sector, and we appreciate that planning authorities have to consider traffic and the wider impact of developments. However, this decision could potentially set a precedent that affects many other businesses and developments across the city, which is particularly disappointing."

Despite the two planning rejections, Boxd has been expanding its operations with new outlets planned in the coming weeks.

It already operates a drive-thru in Ballincollig and a cafe on Bandon Rd, along with the Swoon dessert outlet on Oliver Plunkett St and a kiosk in Douglas.

Earlier this month, they were granted planning permission for new premises on the city’s Washington St, with planners in City Hall giving change-of-use approval to convert the vacant ground-floor office at Florence Buildings on the corner of Washington St and Hanover Place into a cafe.

In addition to this, the company is opening a new outlet in a vacant unit of the Blackpool Shopping Centre in September.

The expansions will see Boxd’s employee numbers rise above 100 in the coming months, with the company firmly committed to expansion in Cork. Boxd has also received interest from outside Cork and abroad, with the potential for the chain’s model to be expanded further.

In a separate planning decision this week, An Comisiún Pleanála approved plans from Boxd to convert a vacant ground floor commercial unit into a cafe at Gerald Griffin Street in Blackpool at its busy junction with Cathedral Road and Shandon Street. Cork City Council had originally granted permission for the change, but that decision was appealed by a third party.

In relation to this planning approval, Boxd said the fact it took two years to secure planning highlights the barriers businesses face when trying to invest and grow.

"It is no surprise that Ireland has such a low level of young entrepreneurship compared with the rest of Europe. Large businesses and major investment may understandably receive significant attention, but the vital role SMEs play in communities cannot be undervalued. They create local employment, support local suppliers and generate significant revenue throughout the local economy. The pro-business slogans used by many in authority are not evident in our case," they said.

"Despite this being deeply disheartening, we remain hugely committed to Cork and to continuing to invest here. We just hope that, going forward, there can be a better and more constructive relationship between businesses and the local authority — one where concerns can be discussed openly and projects can be improved rather than businesses simply finding out at the end of a lengthy process that their application has been rejected."