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: