AN BORD PLEANÁLA has delayed its decision on an application to build a €450 million super-casino and resort at Two Mile Borris in North Tipperary.

The Sunday Business Post reports that the planning board has written to all interested parties to inform them that it needs more time to deliberate on the controversial project.

It says it will take two more weeks but John Burke writes that there may not be a decision before next month at the earliest.

The project was given the green light by North Tipperary Count Council last year.

It is set to include a replica of the White House, a sports complex and an entertainment resort, an all-weather racecourse, a greyhound track and a full 18-hole golf course.

But its construction would require a change in gambling legislation in Ireland. This is something independent TD Michael Lowry, a prominent supporter of the project, has lobbied for in the Dáil previously.

Lowry said 1,000 construction workers would be employed for the project’s three-year build, and that up to 2,000 permanent jobs would be created at the venue.

Back in March, Ireland’s heritage trust An Taisce said it opposed the project on the grounds that it is “ill-conceived” and it estimates that it will cost €30m in increased fuel and emissions because of its location.

The proposal would also mean the redirection of 750m of river waters. An Taisce previously described the proposal as “mind-blowing”.

Read more from John Burke in today’s print edition of the Sunday Business Post >