A Dublin based firm has set its sights on overturning a local authority’s decision to refuse a drive-thru facility to service an approved coffee shop development on the grounds of Golden Island Shopping Centre in Athlone.
Int Inv (I) GP Ltd have tabled an appeal with An Coimisiún Pleanála over Westmeath County Council’s decision to reject plans to introduce a drive-thru element to a previously permitted standalone coffee shop within the grounds of the popular shopping precinct.
In planning documents, it was revealed how local planners raised doubts over the application’s “perceived car-dependent nature” and its all-round necessitation.
In its own analysis and Traffic Assessment Report, consultants for the applicants insisted the development would both “reinvigorate and revitalise” one of the Midlands leading retail facilities.
“The proposed development will contribute positively to the overall vitality and viability of the centre by increasing footfall, improving customer convenience and enhancing the overall visitor experience,” a planning report compiled by Dublin based Hughes Planning and Development Consultants argued.
Any lingering connectivity reservations, the report argued, would be addressed via a direct pedestrian connection to Burgess Park and Athlone town centre.
“These improvements will enhance the attractiveness and functionality of the shopping centre and will provide a meaningful positive contribution to the wider area,” it stated.
Council planners adopted a different view, however, pointing to a “number of significant deficiencies” in the aforementioned Traffic Assessment Report.
The most fundamental of these, the council contended was the absence of “any robust quantitative analysis” to support the conclusion that the majority of drive-through customers would be existing shopping centre patrons.
“There is no objective evidence demonstrating existing traffic demand, additional peak-hour vehicle movements, queue lengths, or the potential impact on the shopping centre’s internal circulation or surrounding road network, including the MacDiarmada Road and Ceannt Road junctions,” council planners maintained.
Any conclusions that the development would have no significant traffic impact was “speculative rather than evidence-based”, they added.
Council bosses refused Int Inv (I) GP Ltd’s application at the end of July, insisting it was “not satisfied” the proposed drive-through coffee shop would not adversely affect traffic circulation, pedestrian safety or the day-to-day operations of Golden Island Shopping Centre’s road network.
Senior chiefs from the Dublin based development firm have since appealed that decision with a final ruling not expected until early 2027.