Cloghan Service Station approved for 24-hour fuel card operations

A service station in the west Offaly village of Cloghan has been given the go-ahead to provide a round-the-clock fuel card pump operation, along with overnight truck parking, for a period of one year in a ruling issued by An Coimisiún Pleanála.

The ruling states that the extension of opening hours at Cloghan Filling Station and the provision of overnight truck parking is to be removed after the 12-month period unless permission has been granted by Offaly County Council for their retention.

The planning commission has also ruled that during the one year for which the permission is granted, the noise levels of vehicles entering and leaving the site between the hours of 10pm and 6.30am is to be monitored.

The commission said that a granting of temporary permission would facilitate the collection of operational data about noise levels at the site and “protect the residential amenities of property in the vicinity of the site”.

In its ruling, signed off on October 20, the board of An Coimisiún Pleanála explained that it had decided “on balance” that “a temporary permission” for these two elements would provide “greater clarity” through the acquisition of operational noise monitoring data that would then inform a future decision by a planning authority.

The owners of Cloghan Service Station, Martin and Pat Grogan, lodged an appeal in July against a decision of Offaly County Council to refuse planning permission for fuel cards to operate on a 24-hour a day basis and for overparking truck parking on the site at Ferbane St in the Creggan and Glosterboy townsland.

In their grounds of appeal, the restriction on the opening hours attached to the original grant of permission was described as “excessive and unwarranted” and it was argued that the extension of opening hours would represent “an efficient use of existing facilities” which would align with the “expectations of the modern consumer” and would be consistent with the “relevant zoning objective” of the site.

The appeal lodged on behalf of Martin and Pat Grogan also argued that the the proposed operating hours would meet the needs of commercial drivers by providing them with a “safe and secure rest area” along with refuelling opportunities, toilets and food facilities along the N62 national primary road.

The decision of the planning appeals board to grant a temporary grant of planning permission for a round-the-clock fuel operation at Cloghan Service Station, and the provison of overnight truck parking, was made despite the fact that a report prepared by a planning inspector with An Coimisiún Pleanála recommended that planning permission be refused for this element of the project.