Correspondence forwarded, by Tipperary Co. Council on the 9th of April last, 2025, to McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland Ltd. regarding their applications for the granting of planning permission for a drive-thru McDonald’s Restaurant here in Thurles, Co. Tipperary, [Ref. No. 2460829]; we can now confirm that permission has been granted.
The correspondence forwarded to McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland Ltd. reads as follows:
A Chara,
In pursuance of the powers conferred upon them by the above mentioned Acts, Tipperary County Council has by Order dated 09/04/2025 decided to grant you permission for development of land namely:-the development of a single storey drive-thru restaurant including the ancillary sale of hot food for consumption off the premises with an associated corral area, elevational signage, modifications to existing vehicular access off the Thurles Relief Road, car parking including accessible parking spaces, grill bays, EV charging spaces, bicycle parking, a height restrictor, customer order points with associated canopies, totem signage, free-standing signage, banner frames and digital menu boards, ESB substation and kiosk, landscaping including outdoor furniture/seating area with parasols, boundary treatments, lighting, and all associated site and engineering works necessary to facilitate the development.
A Natura Impact Statement (NIS) has been prepared and is submitted to the planning authority with the application at Land at Slievenamon Road and Thurles Relief Road, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
For the reason(s) stated in schedule 1 and subject to the condition(s) stated on schedule 2 (1 to 15, pages 1 to 3). If there is no appeal against the said decision, a Grant of permission in accordance with the Decision shall be issued as soon as maybe, but not
earlier than 3 working days after the expiration of the period within which an appeal may be made to An Bord Pleanala. (See Footnote at end of document).
It should be noted that until a Grant of a Permission has been issued the development in question is not authorised. The applicant is advised that unless the development described above is carried out within five (5) years from the date of Grant of PERMISSION, planning permission will cease to have effect.
Signed on behalf of Geraldine Quinn, (Director of Services) – Date: 9th April, 2025.
Amongst the many conditions included in the permission granted are:–
The development, should it go ahead, will not be permitted to operate outside the hours of 6:00am and 10:00pm, unless otherwise agreed in writing with the Planning Authority.
REASON: In the interests of residential amenity.
Prior to development commencing detailed design of the ventilation, air conditioning and mechanical equipment required to service the development shall be submitted for the written agreement of the Planning Authority. The equipment shall be located as per the details proposed and shall incorporate noise and odour mitigation measures in the design.
REASON: In the interest of residential and visual amenity.
Lighting will not be permitted to impact significantly on the amenities of adjoining properties or the safety of traffic on the public road. In the event that the Planning Authority receives complaints from neighbouring properties about light spillage, the Planning Authority will request the carrying out of a survey, by a suitably qualified person.
REASON: In the interest of residential amenity and traffic safety.
Free field noise levels attributable to the development (when assessed at all noise sensitive locations) during operation shall not exceed 55d B LAeq,T.
This grant of permission does not extend to the banner frames located at the northwestern and western ends of the site. These shall be omitted. Details of the banner frame and sign at the site entrance shall be submitted for the written agreement of the Planning Authority prior to development commencing.
All surface waters drainage from the site shall be discharged to the surface water sewer as proposed via a class 1 Petrol Interceptor.
The surface water drainage system shall be revised to incorporate nature based sustainable drainage measures that shall be integrated with the soft landscaping and tree planting proposals. Details of these measures shall be illustrated on a revised drainage plan for the site (to a scale of 1:500) that shall be submitted for the written agreement of the Planning Authority prior to development commencing.
It’s weird that anyone would object to this on health reasons, yet it was fine to put a vape / candy store meters away from the Ursuline in Liberty Square.
Big name companies will hopefully attract other big name companies.
I totally agree. However, Tipperary Co. Co. would grant planning permission for 6 houses of ‘ill repute’ to operate in Liberty Square, in their attempt to regain the 60% of lost footfall; having supported the total annihilation of businesses in our town centre.
By granting permission to McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland Ltd, they have further pursued their policies of town centre decay. How many small Cafes/Bistro’s will now continue to survive in an already struggling town centre?
Yes, and they are building yet another Restaurant beside The Source. We are to become a ‘Nation of Restaurants’.
Two McDonalds were recently granted planning permission in Westmeath and Waterford but in retail parks with one sole objection for each. There were over twenty for this development. The powers that be in Tipp and in Dublin don’t give a fig for appropriate developments in the likes of Thurles. There isn’t another drive through in such an area anywhere in Ireland. Again the whole sorry mess for this goes back to a grand-standing local politician obsessed with attention and his businessman pal who backed the whole redevelopment of the Erin Foods site. The key part of this was to be a 64,000 square feet office park which is an idea that was about as pie in the sky as an international casino in Two Mile Borris. But in everybody rowed dutifully behind it, and all that was ever developed on the site was a Lidl moved from a part of a town that needed a supermarket to a part of a town that had two already nearby. Now, you end up with the sites spun off with one now rubber-stamped for an absolute eyesore of a fast food restaurant with height restricters and all the traffic, noise and increased local obesity it will leave in its wake. Best of luck to McDonalds. I’d say their team in Dublin can’t believe their luck. Now a precedent is set for similar residential areas in the rest of the country. Where Tipperary leads Ireland follows!
Again, I must totally agree. But again we continue to vote for this grand-standing local politician who hungers for and then allows himself to be manipulated by wealthy business men in the hope that they may cast a few pearls in return for his continuous false promises.