Lowry: Work on casino to begin by year-end

INDEPENDENT TD Michael Lowry has said work could begin by the end of the year on a €460 million casino and leisure development he has supported, following the decision by An Bord Pleanála to approve much of the project.

The board’s decision came despite a recommendation for refusal by its own planning inspector who conducted an oral hearing into the planned Tipperary Venue earlier this year.

Inspector Pauline Fitzpatrick said in her report that the 800-acre complex would be “premature”; in contravention of the National Spatial Strategy and Mid-West Regional Planning Guidelines; car-dependent; and “prejudicial” to the protection of the area’s architectural heritage.