Go ahead given for expansion of McDonald's Restaurant in Dundalk

Louth County Council has given the go ahead for the expansion of the McDonald's Restaurant at Stapleton Drive, Dundalk.

McDonald's Restaurants of Ireland Limited applied to Louth County Council in December 2022, for planning permission for a lateral extension to the restaurant floor area by 15.2sqm (from 270.7sqm to 285.9sqm) along the northern, western and southern elevations of the building.

Included in the planning application were provisions for a new raised traffic island to create a two lane Drive Thru arrangement and the provision of associated Drive Thru structures including a height restrictor and customer order delivery point.

It also sought permission for a new delivery door and a new sliding door entrance with extended patio paving along the northern elevation; amendments to the existing corral on the southern elevation; the provision of an external corral and container in the south-western corner of the site; as well as revisions to the car parking layout; relocation of existing signage and canopies; general elevational amendments and all associated site development work.

Louth County Council sought Further Information on the planned development in February. Included in the request are details in relation to the existing and proposed sit layout plans.

In its request, the Planning Authority said it had "a number of concerns from the examination of the existing and proposed site layout plans and how this accords to the previous permission for the site", for works which were granted in 2016, " and the impacts of the proposed amendments now proposed to this restricted site."

Included in the Significant Further Information provided to Louth County Council on 20 April was details "principally

relating to an amended red line boundary (site size increased from 0.16 Ha to 0.17Ha) to facilitate the provision of boundary fencing along the northern, southern, eastern and western boundaries of the application site."

Louth County Council granted planning permission for the development to go ahead on 12 May, subject to seven conditions