Is this the slowest most costliest building project ongoing in Ireland currently ?.
Are the archaeology people involved ?.
Building project?! ;D I thought they were making a lay-by.
Must be alright.Also is it not too close to Belfast anyway?
It's to give people in Lisburn a day out.
I look forward to yet another 10 mins added to the rush hour commute.
Quote from: hardstation on May 09, 2015, 01:37:27 PM
Quote from: T Fearon on May 09, 2015, 10:52:21 AM
Must be alright.Also is it not too close to Belfast anyway?
Exactly my thoughts. Why would a service station be needed there?
Erm... Belfast isn't the beginning and/or end of every journey that uses the M1.
Yeah,but after leaving Belfast do you really need a roadside cafe,service station 4 miles down the road?
There's no fuel stops/food outlets/truck stops etc etc with easy access from motorways in Belfast. You may be passing through the city but for most traffic they're never really 'in' it.
Not that handy getting petrol near the city centre. This place should do well. The one on the M2 has had to take on extra staff since it opened - very busy apparently.
Up past it again today. A bit of excavation and a few retaining gabions is the sum total of a good few months work. I also had my reservations as it so close to Belfast. However a few good points here that plenty of journeys don't require a stop in the city and it isn't handy to fill the car let alone anything heavier. That garage at the end of Stockman's Lane is a bloody nightmare when the road is busy.
If this is southbound I assume the M2 equivalent is northbound?
There will be 4 service stations by the end of next year afaik. One on each side of the M1 & M2.
The one opened on the M2 is country-bound.
I never buy petrol in Belfast,far too dear.Still think majority of traffic using the Motorway is coming from or going to Belfast and stopping or coming from stopping in the City for a specific reason.
I always use the Applegreen outside Dundalk on my way to Dublin,for a coffee, but still have doubts about the location of this one.In fact with four major turn off centres on the relatively short 40 odd mile MI journey from Belfast to Dungannon, I would doubt if there's a viable need for an Applegreen on the M1 at all.
I dunno. Maybe we are becoming different peoples. I just can't imagine the opening of a petrol station in Finglas or Ballincollig generating a gaaboard thread.
That's because petrol stations in Finglas and Ballincollig are opened daily,usually with crowbars!
The lack of progress is baffling. Maybe there is some good reason for it. But you'd hate to be the developer. It will be a very expensive filling station before it opens.
Probably a judicial review or something.Meanwhile the rates on all filling stations in and around Belfast have gone sky high (jumping by a few hundred percent in some cases) as a result of the commercial rates revaluation,so maybe the developer himself has had second thoughts
Quote from: orangeman on May 10, 2015, 01:30:07 PM
The lack of progress is baffling. Maybe there is some good reason for it. But you'd hate to be the developer. It will be a very expensive filling station before it opens.
The site acquisition was a mess. The site was bought off the local farmer. But they didn't buy enough land. They had to back for more. By that stage they had committed to the site and the farmer had them by the nads. The sorted now but at who knows what price
Quote from: LCohen on May 10, 2015, 05:37:02 PM
Quote from: orangeman on May 10, 2015, 01:30:07 PM
The lack of progress is baffling. Maybe there is some good reason for it. But you'd hate to be the developer. It will be a very expensive filling station before it opens.
The site acquisition was a mess. The site was bought off the local farmer. But they didn't buy enough land. They had to back for more. By that stage they had committed to the site and the farmer had them by the nads. The sorted now but at who knows what price
Thanks for that explanation. Like Orangeman, I've been mystified by the progress to date which seemed to involve simply moving large amounts of earth from one area of the site to the other. The Panama Canal was built quicker!
Quote from: LCohen on May 10, 2015, 05:37:02 PM
Quote from: orangeman on May 10, 2015, 01:30:07 PM
The lack of progress is baffling. Maybe there is some good reason for it. But you'd hate to be the developer. It will be a very expensive filling station before it opens.
The site acquisition was a mess. The site was bought off the local farmer. But they didn't buy enough land. They had to back for more. By that stage they had committed to the site and the farmer had them by the nads. The sorted now but at who knows what price
Still looks like a fairly poky site.
Quote from: LCohen on May 10, 2015, 05:37:02 PM
Quote from: orangeman on May 10, 2015, 01:30:07 PM
The lack of progress is baffling. Maybe there is some good reason for it. But you'd hate to be the developer. It will be a very expensive filling station before it opens.
The site acquisition was a mess. The site was bought off the local farmer. But they didn't buy enough land. They had to back for more. By that stage they had committed to the site and the farmer had them by the nads. The sorted now but at who knows what price
That would explain why the hill at the back kept moving further and further back!
Another thing I could never understand, and it applies to the applegreen stations at Dundalk and Lusk as well - why build a station on either side of the road, rather than build one and a bridge across the motorway so that there's accessible from both carriages? I know bridges are expensive, but surely not more expensive than building and running a second filling station? The M1 also needs relief between J6 and J2 city-bound, and J3 and J6 country-bound - when there's an accident, there's no way off for several miles. Junctions 4 and 5 don't exist and a service station could have sorted this.
The NRA own the first tranche of motorway service areas operated by Applegreen in Lusk, Castlebellingham and Enfield - it was their 'idea' to have stations on both sides of the motorway. I understand that the 'idea' has failed spectacularly, from a commercial viewpoint - in each case there's a 'busy' side and, ahem, a 'not busy' side; there's tonnes of capacity even on the 'busy' side of the road. So, now there's a second tranche of service stations up for auction - all of which are one service area with a bridge. Incidentally, Applegreen also operate two non-NRA motorway service areas - Birdhill (outside Limerick) and Wicklow; both are one-siders, with a bridge.
The new service stations in the south are in places less busy than the M1 and M4, so the bridge makes more sense there.
The actual reason for the delay is due to a badger set being found. And as per usual these days when things like these are found you cant do anything until they decide to move out themselves. Something about mating season or something.
Quote from: Muzz on May 11, 2015, 12:01:25 PM
The actual reason for the delay is due to a badger set being found. And as per usual these days when things like these are found you cant do anything until they decide to move out themselves. Something about mating season or something.
Would gassing them or shooting them not be quicker?
I believe that was suggested but I believe that there's a law that the environmenalists can now call on to protect the wee bollocks.
Quote from: Keyser soze on May 11, 2015, 12:17:08 PM
Quote from: Muzz on May 11, 2015, 12:01:25 PM
The actual reason for the delay is due to a badger set being found. And as per usual these days when things like these are found you cant do anything until they decide to move out themselves. Something about mating season or something.
Would gassing them or shooting them not be quicker?
I often wonder could the site managers not just turn a blind eye and fill the holes in with a fill of cement, like who would really know? ;)
The badgers would have a fair idea :)
Quote from: AZOffaly on May 11, 2015, 02:14:50 PM
The badgers would have a fair idea :)
They'd be alright at the heel of the hunt!!
You'd have people badgering Stephen Nolan about it.
Quote from: brokencrossbar1 on May 11, 2015, 02:10:09 PM
Quote from: Keyser soze on May 11, 2015, 12:17:08 PM
Quote from: Muzz on May 11, 2015, 12:01:25 PM
The actual reason for the delay is due to a badger set being found. And as per usual these days when things like these are found you cant do anything until they decide to move out themselves. Something about mating season or something.
Would gassing them or shooting them not be quicker?
I often wonder could the site managers not just turn a blind eye and fill the holes in with a fill of cement, like who would really know? ;)
It wouldn't sett.
I'll get my coat.
Fearon will be ripping that he didn't think of that.
Another contender for post of the year!
Don't be badgering Fearon.
It'd a black and White issue. Stop making a mountain out of a mole hill
Quote from: Rufus T Firefly on May 10, 2015, 05:46:02 PM
Quote from: LCohen on May 10, 2015, 05:37:02 PM
Quote from: orangeman on May 10, 2015, 01:30:07 PM
The lack of progress is baffling. Maybe there is some good reason for it. But you'd hate to be the developer. It will be a very expensive filling station before it opens.
The site acquisition was a mess. The site was bought off the local farmer. But they didn't buy enough land. They had to back for more. By that stage they had committed to the site and the farmer had them by the nads. The sorted now but at who knows what price
or alternatively it was something to do with badgers. Don't tell prince Charlie
Thanks for that explanation. Like Orangeman, I've been mystified by the progress to date which seemed to involve simply moving large amounts of earth from one area of the site to the other. The Panama Canal was built quicker!
Might do a roaring trade with the faithful flocking in their thousands to the annual Clonard Monastery Novena