Ebb&Flow Coffee Stand at St Mary’s RFC
photo by Ebb&Flow
Ebb&Flow appeal against Padel Court Permission
Planning permission granted for three padel courts at St Mary’s College RFC has been appealed by the owners of a coffee stand on the sports grounds.
Permission was granted in June to St Mary’s College in Templeogue to build three padel tennis courts “enclosed in a steel and canvas structure, measuring 900sqm in area, including two W/C’s”.
The development would also relocate some of the existing 107 car parking spaces on the grounds and add 20 new bike spaces.
However, an appeal was lodged by the owners of Ebb & Flow coffee ‘drive thru’, located in the St Mary’s College car park, on the grounds that the “layout of the proposed padel courts will interfere with the operation of the existing takeaway coffee unit”.
The location for the proposed padel courts would create “a physical and visual barrier between the café and the site entrance”, according to the appeal filed by Armstrong Planning on behalf of the owners of Ebb & Flow, who also have brick-and-mortar shops in Clontarf and on Camden St.
Lodged on July 2 with An Coimisiún Pleanála, the appeal notes that the coffee shop “forms part of a broader effort to enhance the amenity offering within the club grounds while maintaining minimal impact on the surrounding area” and that the existing layout of parking on the grounds allows for the ‘drive thru’ coffee service that “makes up a substantial proportion of our clients’ business”.
While the appeal said the owners support enhancements to facilities at St Mary’s College RFC, “this would significantly impair its operation, reducing customer visibility and access, and ultimately undermining the functionality and commercial viability of the permitted coffee shop”.
A decision is due from An Coimisiún Pleanála by November of this year.
