According to reports this weekend, planning permission for a new fast-food outlet at the Blacklion Centre in Greystones, Wicklow has been granted. The proposal for the restaurant replaced a previous application for a smaller outlet which was turned down by An Bord Pleanála.
The new plans will come as a major blow to locals, who were fiercely opposed to the building of the restaurant, chiefly because it is to be built opposite three schools in the area. Local parents, in particular, have expressed their concerns over the potentially negative impact of the restaurant’s location on their children.
The boards of management of the relevant schools – Templecarrig Secondary School, Gaelscoil na gCloch Liath, and the Greystones Educate Together – had appealed against the planning, with the threat of child obesity among their arguments.
In the face of opposition, representatives from McDonalds Restaurants Ireland highlighted the fact that the new outlet will be creating 80 jobs.
