Cinema plans shot down by bord pleanala

Plans for a new 1,400-seat nine-screen cinema at the Navan Retail Park have been shot down by An Bord Pleanala. 
The planning appeals board has refused Omniplex Holdings permission for the development on the grounds that it is located on the outskirts of the town, in a location that is  poorly accessible from the town centre and would conflict with retail policy.
The Omniplex Holdings cinema chain has sought to carry out remedial works to amalgamate three existing units in the Navan Retail Park into a nine-screen multiplex with the latest 4D technology.
Meath County Council had granted permission for the development to go ahead last June, but this was appealed by Paul and Liz Egan, Diamond Cinemas in Navan and Showtime Cinemas in Ashbourne.
This is the second time that An Bord Pleanala has overturned a grant of planning permission for a multiplex cinema at this location.
The latest decision to overturn the planning permission has been branded a “disgusting insult to the people of Navan” by Cllr Shane Cassells.
He said that “investors with real money to make things happen in Navan” were now being driven out of the town.
He added that such a large development could only be accommodated in a location like the Retail Park as they had the parking requirements to cater for the large crowds that would use it.
“I am disgusted by the decision of An Bord Pleanala to overturn the planning decision for the nine screen Omniplex cinema in Navan.
“This is a facility that people and young families in particular are crying out for and the reality is that they are leaving the town at present to avail of such top class facilities in Dublin.”