Planning permission granted for Tipperary all-weather track after 16-month wait

Plans for a new all-weather track at Tipperary racecourse are back in motion after An Bord Pleanala (Ireland's national independent planning body) granted permission for its construction following a lengthy appeal process.

Planning permission for the development was granted by Tipperary County Council in August 2022 but an appeal was lodged the following month by concerned local residents.

They were worried by a lack of information on aspects of the redevelopment, including increased traffic and noise, light spillage from new floodlights, and possible health implications related to being located near a proposed substation.

Work was scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2023 for a track opening at the end of 2024, but plans had to be put on hold until An Bord Pleanala gave the go ahead this week.

Dundalk: the only all-weather track in IrelandCredit: Patrick McCann (Racingpost.com/photos)

Andrew Hogan, manager of Tipperary racecourse, said: "It was great news. We got the news late Thursday night, so we'll have to sit down next week with Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) and review everything to decide when work can commence. It will be brilliant for Tipperary. We have to make a plan now and hopefully get the wheels in motion.

"It's still the case that racing won't go ahead while the work is under way. There's still a bit of red tape to go through, but it's very positive news and we're delighted."

The decision to grant permission comes with 12 conditions attached, including an invasive plant species study which is to be conducted before construction begins, an environmental management plan, a resource waste management plan, and a directive that the floodlights must not operate between 10pm and 7am.

The floodlights must also be directed on to the surface of the all-weather track and away from the adjacent housing and public road, and in a manner which reduces, as far as possible, the light scatter over the adjacent housing and public road.

Dundalk Stadium is the only all-weather track operating in Ireland since its redevelopment in 2007.

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