Similar plans for Cobh were greenlit last month
15:54, 09 Jan 2026Updated 17:18, 09 Jan 2026
The area of the planned development – No.54 Main Street(Image: )
A casino company is looking to expand with a new “gaming arcade” – complete with a café and overhead apartment – in a busy East Cork town.
Applicant Coalquay Leisure Limited – which operates a number of casinos in the city centre – have submitted plans to completely transform a terraced house with a commercial ground floor at No.54 Midleton Main Street. The building dates back to the late 18th century and was previously occupied by an estate agents and a chiropody centre. The casino company aims to combine part of an existing residential unit and a storage shed to make a new “gaming/amusement arcade” on the base level. The proposed development further includes a single-storey extension to the rear of the building, which would form part of the arcade.
Coalquay Leisure is also applying for a change of use of an existing shop space to a café, and to refurbish the upper floors and add a single 5-bedroom apartment – both of these would be accessed from the Main Street. The entrance to the arcade will be from Distillery Lanes at the rear of the building. The plans were registered on 23rd December 2025, and a decision is due from Cork County Council on 26th February 2026. The final date for third-party observations/submissions is 5th February 2026.
Another casino company – Wonderboy Amusements Ltd, which shares owners with Coalquay Leisure Limited – got a green light for an expansion in Cobh last month, but these plans are currently subject to an appeal. Their planned 4-storey development would include a gaming/amusement arcade on the ground floor, two 1-bed apartments on the first floor and two 2-bed duplex apartments on the second and third floor levels.
Coalquay Leisure Limited also received planning permission for what it described as a ‘gaming/amusement arcade’ in Ballincollig in October. The development was initially refused by the council after close to fifty objections were made against it, but that decision has since been overturned on appeal. The Coimisiún’s decision has sparked outrage among locals, with more than 2,000 people signing a petition opposing plans to date.
A protest was held in the suburb about the development in November 2025.