SUPERMAC’S have opened the Banner Plaza on the outskirts of Ennis.
An unofficial opening of the Banner Plaza took place on Friday (November 7th) with hundreds of visitors flocking in to sample the offering in Kilbreckan, Doora on the outskirts of Ennis, situated just off junction 12 on the M18.
A total of 120 jobs have been created with the opening of the Banner Plaza which includes a Supermac’s, Eurospar store, Texaco forecourt, Mama Rich and Supersubs.
Plans for the motorway service station were first lodged in January 2016 with the projected costs of €10m for the Plaza rising to €18m given the long-running difficulties encountered with objections.
Last month, Uisce Éireann suspended its work on completing the wastewater connection at the service station. This is pending the outcome of a legal challenge taken by Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE). The environmental group in August launched a High Court legal action against Uisce Éireann over its connection agreement for the plaza. The commercial semi-state company is to give FIE fourteen days’ notice before resuming any works.
This case has been adjourned until the beginning of February, Supermac’s are utilising the services of Clare Drains to lead a temporary waste disposal solution until the matter is resolved.
Managing Director of Supermac’s Pat McDonagh told The Clare Echo, “It took a while but everything is worth waiting for at the end of the day if it works. It’s fourteen years since we stood on this site and decided to buy it, it is a long journey but it has worked out fairly well, we’ve had great help and support along the way, there is always a few detractors but the support we’ve got from the locality and from Clare County Council has been very helpful all along the way, I’m delighted to see it come to fruition today”.
In December 2020, planning permission was granted for the Plaza. In 2018, it emerged that bogus letters of support were submitted to the local authority for the development. Plans were withdrawn in 2019 following a request for further information. Fresh proposals were submitted in 2020 before getting the go-ahead.
