Even giant Starbucks can’t beat City Hall

Cork City Council is to be congratulated for confronting the cavalier behaviour of heavyweight international coffee chain Starbucks, which opened three stores in Cork city centre without planning permission.

There was a touch of David Vs Goliath in the stand-off — Starbucks is the largest coffee house company in the world, with 21,536 stores in 65 countries or territories and Cork City Council is a modest enough local authority with pretty finite resources.

An Bord Pleanála yesterday ruled that three Starbucks outlets opened in Cork city centre over the past year do not have adequate planning permission and that permission must now be sought if the businesses are to continue to operate. This is the second occasion in recent times that the local authority has successfully challenged an international chain that gave two fingers to our planing regulations.

So many of the difficulties in Ireland today, from flooding to our housing crisis, are related to poor planning practices and sometimes feeble enforcement, that these interventions, though on a relatively moderate scale, must be welcomed by anyone who cares for the fabric of the city and the integrity of our local government.

As the recovery continues and the construction sector gets into its stride again, it is reassuring to have a local authority determined to enforce planning regulations.