Where would you be without McDonald's? A lot better off, says a Kilkenny community which has mounted a vigorous campaign to prevent the fast-food restaurant chain from opening an outlet in its area.
Residents of a south city area known as The Village say McDonald's is welcome in Kilkenny but that the Patrick Street site it has chosen is unsuitable. Their concerns are shared by Kilkenny Corporation, which has taken the unprecedented step of asking other local authorities to support it in seeking to have a decision of An Bord Pleanala overturned by the courts.
The application by McDonald's for planning permission for the restaurant, takeaway and drive-in facility next-door to the Village Inn pub was turned down by the corporation last year. The company appealed, but a senior planning inspector with An Bord Pleanala, Mr William Byrne, recommended that the corporation decision stand. He found that the development would be "seriously injurious to the residential amenities of the area" and would be "contrary to [its] proper planning development".
He also agreed with the corporation's assertion that the restaurant would endanger public safety by causing a traffic hazard at an already busy junction.
To the dismay of locals, however, Mr Byrne's recommendation was rejected by An Bord Pleanala, which refused permission for the drive-in aspect but otherwise upheld the McDonald's appeal. Inspectors' recommendations are overturned by the board in only 12 per cent of cases.
Coincidentally, both Mr Byrne and Mr Lewis Clohessy, the board member who signed the direction overturning his recommendation, are from Kilkenny.
To say the decision has caused anger in the area would be an understatement. The most vociferous opposition has come from the parents and teachers of pupils at two local primary schools, one of which, St John of God's, is adjacent to the proposed restaurant site. The other school, St Patrick's de la Salle, is on a lane behind the Village Inn.
The principal of St Patrick's, Mr Gerry Moran, stresses that there is "no objection whatsoever" to McDonald's opening in Kilkenny. "But we strongly object to the location they have picked. This is one of the most congested areas in Kilkenny and the restaurant would be sandwiched between two schools with a combined total of 800 pupils. Anything that could attract more traffic to this already hazardous junction can only endanger the lives of our children," he says.
"The overwhelming majority of the parents in both schools are against this development; our parents' councils are against it; our teachers are against it; our boards of management are against it; our own corporation is against it, and Bord Pleanala's own inspector is against it. Yet An Bord Pleanala turns around and says `You must live with this'. We find this incomprehensible."
Ms Rita Holohan, principal of St John of God's, says the school sent out questionnaires to ascertain the views of parents on the issue. Of those returned, 400 were against the development and 18 in favour. The schools also have security concerns about the prospect of the restaurant attracting large numbers of people to the area outside school hours.
Residents are also concerned. Ms Sadie McCarthy, whose house faces the Village Inn car park, which would be used for the new development, says local people are nervous about what's in store for them. "It will attract strangers to the area and our quality of life will be affected with the noise and everything else this will bring."
The controversy is given an added dimension by the perception among councillors in Kilkenny that local democracy is being undermined by An Bord Pleanala, which has overturned a number of planning refusals by the corporation.
It could be argued that the board, which has declined to comment on the controversy, has simply been doing its job, but councillors claim they are unable to defend key aspects of the city's development plan, such as a ban on new takeaways in the city, because of various board decisions.
At its meeting last week Kilkenny Corporation decided to write to all other local authorities in the State asking for support in seeking a judicial review of the procedures applied by the board in this case. One member, Mr Mick McGuinness, claimed that other councils were also "waiting for a chance to have a go at An Bord Pleanala".
There is still hope for a negotiated settlement, which could see McDonald's open in another part of the city. Mr Paddy Donnelly, the city and county manager, has already met Mr Denis Treacy, the owner of the property to be developed, and is to meet representatives of McDonald's on June 3rd with a view to finding an alternative site.
In a statement, McDonald's pointed out that the application for a restaurant at Patrick Street had gone through "the full planning process".
"McDonald's will comply with the conditions as laid down by An Bord Pleanala and will follow due process. McDonald's are currently meeting with interested parties in relation to concerns raised following the granting of permission," it said. The development, added the statement, would result in the creation of 50 new jobs.
