SUPERMAC’s Banner Plaza has been met with a further delay ahead of its scheduled opening later this month with the owner of the fast-food giant claiming the planning system has been “abused”.
On Monday, it emerged in The High Court that Uisce Éireann had suspended its work on completing the wastewater connection at the new motorway service station on the outskirts of Ennis.
Construction commenced in May on the Banner Plaza located in Kilbreckan, Doora on junction 12 of the M18. Since 2014, €18m has been invested by the fast-food giant on the plaza which is set to create 120 jobs.
Uisce Éireann have paused their work 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.
FIE had threatened to apply to a judge for a stay on the works. They argued that the connection would have an adverse impact on water quality in the River Fergus, because it claims Clareabbey Wastewater Treatment Plant is already over-capacity.
Last year, the High Court dismissed a similar case by Kilfenora’s Michael Duffy who took a judicial review to An Bord Pleanála. FIE claim data that became available only after the Duffy case showed the wastewater plant was over capacity, resulting in raw or partially treated wastewater being discharged into the River Fergus.
In a statement to The Clare Echo, a spokesperson for Supermac’s outlined, “The Banner Plaza project at Junction 12 on the M18 has been one of the most comprehensively assessed and scrutinised developments ever brought forward in the region. Over the past decade, every aspect of the project including its environmental and water treatment systems has been rigorously reviewed and ultimately upheld by the relevant authorities and by the High Court”.
This new judicial review “represents an unprecedented legal move effectively seeking to re-litigate issues that have already been determined through the planning process and by the courts,” the spokesperson outlined.
According to the spokesperson, “The connection in question has been lawfully approved, paid for, and is governed by a signed agreement with Uisce Éireann. The Plaza’s on-site treatment system is among the most advanced in the country, ensuring that water discharged from the facility is of exceptionally high quality.
“If post-planning connection agreements can be challenged indefinitely, even after full planning approval and judicial confirmation, it would undermine confidence in the entire Irish planning and infrastructure system. This is a matter of national importance. It is vital that this challenge is dealt with before it does serious damage and that certainty is restored to Ireland’s planning and investment framework,” the spokesperson added.
Pat McDonagh, founder and owner of Supermac’s has confirmed he will oppose FIE’s entitlement to costs protection in the case. He said the judicial review process was “being abused” and that objectors citing EU environmental directives “can’t lose” even if their legal challenges were unsuccessful. “It is like going to an open ATM and pulling money out – the door is wide open to it”.
Mr Justice Richard Humphreys put the case back for mention on 3 November.
