{"id":628226,"date":"2026-09-18T05:22:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T05:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/628226\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T05:22:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T05:22:13","slug":"supermacs-objects-to-planned-starbucks-drive-through-in-galway-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/628226\/","title":{"rendered":"Supermac\u2019s objects to planned Starbucks drive-through in Galway \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Supermac\u2019s <\/a>has lodged an objection against plans to open a drive-through cafe by a franchise of Starbucks <\/a>in Galway city. <\/p>\n

An online petition by the Galway Commuter Coalition opposing plans for an outlet of the world\u2019s largest coffeehouse has already attracted 2,500 signatures. <\/p>\n

Supermac\u2019s Ireland Limited has added its weight to the opposition by lodging a submission to Galway City Council<\/a> opposing the plans for the drive-through cafe at Galway Shopping Centre off the Headford Road. <\/p>\n

It cited traffic and parking impacts and an \u201cadverse impact\u201d on the nearby Supermac\u2019s restaurant and drive-through among its concerns. <\/p>\n

Planners in the local authority are due to decide on the application this October. <\/p>\n

Dublin-based Atercin Liffey Unlimited \u2013 which operates Starbucks franchises across Ireland \u2013 was previously granted planning permission for the change of use of units 60 and 61 at Galway Shopping Centre from retail to cafe. <\/p>\n

Last month the company lodged a fresh application for permission to construct a new single-storey drive-through hatch at that coffee shop, about 1.5km from Eyre Square. <\/p>\n

The plans include new advertising signage, reconfiguration of footpaths and the existing shopping centre car park including a new \u201cvehicle circulation route and collection point\u201d. <\/p>\n

The proposed cafe would be close to a Supermac\u2019s at units 53 and 54, which has operated as a drive-through since 1993. <\/p>\n

In its submission to the council this week, Supermac\u2019s claimed that the reconfiguration of the car park would lead to the loss of 37 parking spaces. <\/p>\n

Supermac\u2019s pointed out that no traffic impact assessment was submitted with the planning application. <\/p>\n

Supermac\u2019s said the proposed development \u201cencroaches upon and materially conflicts with the established access, circulation, queuing and grill-order waiting arrangements serving the adjoining Supermac\u2019s drive-through\u201d. <\/p>\n

The Galway-headquartered company argued that the proposed drive-through would have an \u201cadverse impact on the established operation of the existing Supermac\u2019s premises\u201d; would cause conflict between pedestrians and vehicles; and that there was a risk of drive-through queues \u201cextending into the wider car park\u201d. <\/p>\n

Supermac\u2019s pointed out that a specific objective in the Galway City Development Plan commits the City Council to preparing a local area plan (LAP) for Headford Road to support the area\u2019s regeneration. <\/p>\n

Galway Commuter Coalition said another drive-through development on Headford Road \u2013 one of the main arteries into Galway city from Mayo and Dublin \u2013 is \u201cthe last thing the Headford Road and the surrounding area need\u201d. <\/p>\n

The community group said the development would generate more traffic at \u201cone of Galway City\u2019s most congested junctions\u201d, and the site should be better utilised. <\/p>\n

\u201cApproving another car-dependent development here would fly in the face of Galway City Council\u2019s own city development plan and make traffic worse for tens of thousands of Galway residents,\u201d said Cathal Lawlor, chair of the Galway Commuter Coalition. <\/p>\n

Lawlor confirmed the coalition\u2019s online petition opposing the drive-through cafe had garnered 2,500 signatures. <\/p>\n

There are already two Starbucks coffee shops in Galway city, on the pedestrianised Quay Street in the historic Latin Quarter and at Eyre Square Shopping Centre. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Supermac\u2019s has lodged an objection against plans to open a drive-through cafe by a franchise of Starbucks in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":628227,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,4500,35234,61,60,2549,19566,21023],"class_list":["post-628226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-galway","tag-galway-city-council","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-planning-permission","tag-starbucks","tag-supermacs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=628226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628226\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/628227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=628226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=628226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=628226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}