An Bord Pleanála has granted planning permission for a new €460 casino development In Tipperary which is set to include a replica of the White House in Washington DC, which will be used as a “a banqueting facility”.

The Irish version of the “White House” will serve as a memorial to James Hoban, an Irish emigrant who designed the original Presidential manner in Washington DC.

The new site, called “The Tipperary Venue” will include a 500-bedroom five star hotel; a 6,000 square meter casino; a racetrack; a greyhound track; a heliport and a casino.

It is hoped that the new casino complex will bring major investment and an estimated 1,000 jobs to the area, which is situated close to the village of Two-Mile-Borris.

Planning permission for a 15,000-capacity entertainment center was rejected by An Bord Pleanála,a sit was considered “inappropriate” given the location.

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Richard Quirke,a  former police officer from Thurles, is the man behind the development. Quirke is best known for running Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium gaming arcade on Dublin’s O’Connell Street.

The developer has welcomed the decision and in a short statement says his architects would submit a new planning application to Tipperary North County Council, to get the project under way.

"All involved with the Tipperary Venue are heartened and encouraged by An Bord Pleanála’s ruling. There is a renewed commitment and determination to make this exciting development a reality," Quirke added.

A number of locals have opposed the plan citing concerns over high traffic levels and carbon emissions.

“Now is the time to be doing it, because three or four years ago it would have been extremely difficult because everybody was working, you would find it hard to deal with builders or anyone for that matter. Now times have changed dramatically,” Quirke told TV3 News.