*Photograph: Páraic McMahon
CLARE’s first 24-hour gym has been given the go-ahead.
Approval has been granted by Clare County Council for the development which see the existing second floor of the Clare Road Mall in Ennis transformed into a 24-hour gym.
Planning permission for the development was lodged by Newmarket-on-Fergus landowner John Costello in November with the Council requesting further information in January before giving the project the green light last week.
Anytime Fitness which was founded in Minnesota in 2002 and operates over 5,000 franchised locations in fifty countries are set to run the new Ennis gym. They currently have facilities in Kilmainham, Maynooth, Dun Laoghaire, Kilnamanagh, Clondalkin and Ballincollig.
Seven conditions have been attached to the decision of the Council to grant planning. The Council ruled that “the proposed development would not seriously injure the amenities of the area or of property in the vicinity, would be acceptable in terms of traffic safety and convenience and would be in accordance with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area”.
Such conditions include carrying out and completing the development in accordance with the drawings submitted with the initial application and as amended by the further information request. The development is to be carried out in full accordance with the submitted noise and vibration impact assessment which was prepared by Wave Dynamics Acoustics.
Respective flooring systems specified in the technical note of the application must be in place for the weightlifting/free weights area, the weight machine area, functional training area and cardio areas. Free weights, barbells and deadlifting activities “shall be confined strictly to the designated weightlifting area fitted with the TVS HP flooring system with isolation springs” and free weights cannot be used in any other part of the gym, the planners ruled.
Classes can only be held in the gym between 07:00 and 21:00 while all music played within the premises is to be controlled via a limiter system, details of which must be submitted for written agreement of the Council before development commences and this system is to be installed and functioning prior to the occupation of the gym.
Before the gym opens, a noise management plan has to be submitted to in writing and agreed with the planning authority, this is to include music volume control procedures, use of weight drop pads for Olympic lifting, restrictions on dropping weights from height, management of late-night and night-time operation, complaints handling procedures plus staff training and signage measures. The final condition is that all surface water generated within the site boundaries be collected and disposed of within the curtilage of the site and that no surface water be discharged into the public sewer, onto the public road or adjoining properties.
Two objections were received by the Council to the proposed development. Jayne McCarthy who established Jayne’s Off Licence in 2003 and is located at the Clare Rd Mall raised parking as a serious issue. “Parking is already a huge concern at the mall with major congestion problems at peak times and also given the very tight one way system resulting in numerous accidents throughout the year. If the gym were to go ahead, it would be imperative that the parking spaces directly in front of the shop units be changed to ‘set down only’ spaces allowing retail customers and delivery trucks to have access to the shop units throughout the day”.
Editor of The Clare Echo, Stuart Holly also objected to the proposed development. The county’s most read newspaper has been headquartered at the Clare Rd Mall since January 2025. He described the assessment of noise and vibration impacts as “inadequate” and highlighted “serious security risks arising from 24-hour unrestricted access” and “significant deficiencies in parking capacity and safety”. Ennis native Holly said he was present when impact testing was carried out on-site and claimed “during these tests our office shook to its core. The disturbance was so severe that it is clear, we could not work under conditions remotely similar to those generated by gym activity”.
He said it was “wholly inappropriate for a planning authority to rely on unspecified, subjective testing performed by the application themselves without corroboration by the acoustic consultants responsible for the report”. Operating the facility on a 24-hour basis “is inherently unpredictable” and could ‘increase the risk of disturbance, Holly added. The presence of gym members entering and leaving the building at any hour “creates a substantial risk for our employees,” he cautioned in what is “a dramatic decline in building security”. He also shared concerns on car-parking which “already experiences heavy congestion at peak times”.
Wave Dynamics Acoustics prepared a thirteen page technical note in response to the Council’s request for further information. “Based on the measured test results, the TVS High and TVS HP systems were compliant with the gym noise guidance however it was observed that the weight drops were audible on these finishes and may cause adverse impacts despite achieving the GAG guidance criteria,” their report found. “A number of drops were undertaken on this floor construction, and many were inaudible or just slightly perceptible. Based on the results of the testing, it is predicted that this flooring solution for the free weights area will be sufficient to ensure no adverse noise impact for the other users of the building”.
According to the acoustics report, “the high-risk receptors located in the building will be the existing tenants on the first floor of the building. The first-floor tenants currently consist of general office use (Clare MABS, Clare Echo, MOL Construction), and an Osteopath clinic. These spaces are located directly below the proposed second floor gym. The ground floor receptors generally consist of retail use currently which do not have as onerous requirements and are not considered as high risk as the receptors on first floor”.
Correspondence in December from former senior executive engineer in the Ennis Municipal District, Eamon O’Dea flagged that the proposed Ennis Town bus service will have a bus stop on the NS1 (Clarecastle to Ballymaley) and NS2 (Tulla Rd to Shanaway Rd via Kilrush Rd) just north of the St Flannan’s College in north directions “which will give public transport access to the location”. He cautioned, “the level of noise propagation from the proposed development due to its elevation needs to be considered during night-time hours 10pm to 7am due to the proximity of residential units adjacent to the development”. The Council’s road design office had no comment to make on the proposed development.
The development will proceed unless an appeal is lodged with An Coimisiún Pleanála.
