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THE CONTROVERSIAL CASINO and leisure complex proposed for Two Mile Borris in north Tipperary has been given the go ahead by An Bord Pleanála today.
In its ruling issued today, the planning board said it had given the go-ahead for a full-size replica of the White House, a gambling casino, a 500-bedroom hotel, a racetrack, a greyhound track and a golf course on an 800-acre development off the Dublin to Cork M8 motorway at Two Mile Borris in Co Tipperary.
However, the planning board did refuse permission for the 15,000-seater music venue at the site. It was deemed “inappropriate”.
The €450 million development has been backed and lobbied for by independent TD Michael Lowry who has said that 1,000 construction workers would be employed for the project’s three-year build, and that up to 2,000 permanent jobs would be created at the venue.
He told the Irish Times he was happy with the decision that will generate “enormous economic activity and create thousands of sustainable jobs,” adding:
All involved with the Tipperary venue are heartened and encouraged by An Bord Pleanala’s ruling.There is a renewed commitment and determination to make this exciting development a reality.
Planning permission will be valid for seven years from today and the developer Richard Quirke – best known for running the gaming arcade Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium on Dublin’s O’Connell Street – also welcomed the decision.
He told RTÉ he had asked the development team to “proceed to the next appropriate stages of the development.”
The project was given the green light by North Tipperary Count Council last year but opposed by some local residents and An Taisce who said that it is “ill-conceived” and estimated that it will cost €30m in increased fuel and emissions because of its location.
The casino’s construction would require a change in gambling legislation in Ireland which was first proposed by the previous government last December.
Here’s what the development may look like according to the Tipperary Venue YouTube account last October:
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Sounds very classy to me. A scale replica of the white-house no less… Exactly what Ireland needs, slot machines for the desperate.
Seriously, what kind of idiots think this is a good idea. A casino in the back arse of no where (and yes I’m from the country), idiotic!
We live in a strange and magic country.
5 billion pension fund on black! No red! Even, no odd, 13, no, no, 7! That’s the ticket!
Greed, gambling & gombeenism. Exactly what our international reputation needs.
I fail to see how this can create 2000 permenant jobs. Who in Ireland has the extra cash to go blow at a Casino in Two Mile Borris. I wonder how much Lowry has gotten out of this. Nothing has changed. We will end up with a White Replication left abandoned
Should have said White House Replication – maybe Obama can run Europe from there, his home away from home
While I agree that Lowry is a corrosive, sinister force in Irish society – are we really in a position to turn down 3000 jobs, not to mention the spin off effect.
Why is it to be a replica of the White House ? Whats that to do with gambling ?……. Oh no wait a minute…politics…peoples lives….gambling….yes I see the connection !
Something about the architect of the whitehouse originating from the area, I think a replica whitehouse is a great idea, okay a bit naff, but loads of people would like a tour around the whitehouse!
this could be the worlds greatest idea (it’s not btw), however having that gombeen Lowry associated with it automatically demeans it.
Waste of good farmland
Ok apart from the building aspect along with the jobs
Tell me who will be using this place ?
Because from where im sitting not a lot of us have any spare money !
This could not be any more tacky. Why would tourists come to Ireland just to visit this kip?
What a joke.
IS THIS A FUCKING JOKE? Great to build and create jobs but is anyone going to use it, or is it going to end up like all the ghost estate we have already!!!!
Very tasteful! …Is this in North Riding or South Riding?
I think we’re ALL being rode !
@ northtipp so do you know something / or more than the rest of us ?
Do tell ???
I think its a good idea although I have my doubts as to whether it can be sustainable. I’m sure there are plenty of construction workers in that part of the country who would love this opportunity. It’s new, it’s forward thinking and mainly it creates much needed jobs! I think it’s a very exciting project
The Bourne identity us also a work of fiction
Did I see Railway Tracks just to one side of the land? Very ingenious and will Tipperary Venue be requesting a station on the Cork Line to serve there Private centre? I Think YES THEY WILL!! Oh and Irish tax payers can pay for that, sure it’s the least they can do!
The comments here are extremely illinformed and full of bias.
Our venue will have a multitude of benefits during the build and one operational. Think of all the contructionjobs, the staff needed to operate it and the money spend by the hundreds of thousands of tourists who will visit the venue once it is operational.
As for the location; are we really going to object to the loss of a few muddy fields? Surely Ireland is full of those.
The people of Ireland should be thankfull to Mr. Lowry & Quirke for taking the time & effort to promote such a fantastic venue. We could do with more people like these two in Ireland!
Is it magic mushroom season already?
The whole thing is so ridiculous I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Music venue, inappropriate! Hah! Not the casino or replica white house, the music venue?
Please leave the greyhounds out of this venture.
Greyhound racing is cruel and inhumane. Greyhounds endure lives of nearly constant confinement, kept in cages barely large enough for them to stand up or turn around. While racing, many dogs suffer and die from injuries including broken legs, paralysis, and cardiac arrest. And many greyhounds are euthanized every year, as the number retired from racing exceeds the number of adoptive homes.
At racetracks across the country, greyhounds endure lives of confinement. According to industry statements, greyhounds are generally confined in their cages for approximately 20 hours per day. They live inside warehouse-style kennels in stacked cages that are barely large enough to stand up or turn around. Generally, shredded paper or carpet remnants are used as bedding.
An undercover video recently released by GREY2K USA shows the conditions in which these gentle dogs are forced to live: http://www.grey2kusa.org/azVideo.html
For more information on injuries these dogs suffer, please view:
http://www.grey2kusa.org/azInjuries.html
http://www.grey2kusa.org/eNEWS/G2K-022811Email.html
Dogs play an important role in our lives and deserve to be protected from industries and individuals that do them harm.
Val Wolf Board Member, GREY2K USA
This is a great assett to Tipperary.It will attract countless visitors ,Create a vast number of Jobs both in construction and in the complex itself.This is what Tipperary needs and anyone who dosen’t agree with this project needs to seriously think of the wealth of positivity this project will bring to the County of Tipperary,at a time when the country is in recession.
Ask the 2000 people who are in line for jobs what kind of so called gombeen Lowry is.
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