Campaigners against a proposed McDonald's restaurant in Kilkenny are to issue High Court proceedings tomorrow seeking to have planning permission for the development overturned.
Residents, teachers and parents of local schoolchildren resolved to go it alone after Kilkenny Corporation decided not to pursue a case against An Bord Pleanala, which approved the Patrick Street development.
The corporation was still waiting yesterday for a reply from McDonald's to the corporation proposals for a possible alternative site.
Those campaigning against the development say the site the company has chosen, close to two primary schools in an area known as the Village, is unsuitable. They say the restaurant would attract extra traffic to an already hazardous junction and endanger the lives of the 800 pupils who attend the schools.
Permission for the development was refused by the corporation, and a senior pllanning inspector with An Bord Pleanala recommended that an appeal by McDonald's be turned down.
The inspector, Mr William Byrne, said the development would be "seriously injurious to the residential amenities of the area" and contrary to its proper planning development.
However, his recommendation was rejected by the board.
In the case beginning tomorrow, the objectors will seek a judicial review of the board's decision. An Bord Pleanala and McDonald's will both be named as respondents in the action, while Kilkenny Corporation will also be named as a notice party.
Mr Gerry Moran, the principal of St Patrick's de la Salle school, said the campaigners felt they had no option but to take a stand against the development.
He said that at a meeting with McDonald's the company wanted to talk about regulating the traffic. "We said we wanted to talk about a prevention, not a cure."
A fund-raising drive has been opened by the Save the Village campaign to pay for any costs arising from the legal action.
Kilkenny Corporation had been expecting to hear from McDonald's by the end of last week regarding its proposals for an alternative site. A spokesman for the authority said yesterday that it had still not received a reply and would be contacting the company in the course of the day.
A McDonald's spokesman was not available for comment.