Fermoy Lidl’s expansion plan given the green light
COUNCIL PLANNERS SANCTION PROPOSAL TO KNOCK STORE AND REPLACE IT WITH LARGER ONE
GERMAN discount giant Lidl is set to further expand its north Cork operation with County Council giving the green light to an ambitious plan to enlarge its footprint in Fermoy.
Initially lodged in January of this year, the planning application makes provision for the demolition of the existing 1,342 sq metre Lidl store on the N7 Courthouse Road and the adjacent, vacant ‘ Touch of Luxury’ premises.
Under the provisions of the successful application, these will be replaced by a new 2,167 sq metre mono-pitched licensed discount store, with associated infrastructural works ranging in height for one to two storeys.
The proposed new store on the 2.7acre site will incorporate an expanded retail sales area incorporating an off-licence and bakery, lobby, toilets, staff facilities, meeting rooms, IT room and storage/delivery areas.
Externally, the application makes provision for 140 car-parking spaces and 31 bicycle/motorcycle spaces, a trolley bay and associated signage.
Primary vehicular and pedestrian access to the proposed new store will be via a repositioned site entrance onto the N72 Courthouse Road, with a second dedicated pedestrian entrance from the road.
A single submission in relation to the proposed development had been lodged with the planning authority in the name of Michael O’Riordan.
While Mr Riordan wrote that he had no objection in principle to the proposed development, he did express concerns over its appearance.
“Having regard to the site’s prominent location on the principal approach road to the town, I believe the design and layout of the proposed store are inappropriate at this location,” he wrote.
“This prominent gateway site (to the town) demands a building of much higher quality and merit than is currently proposed,” he added.
While planners ruled the development was in accordance with the “proper planning and sustainable development” of the area, they did impose a schedule of 28 conditions attached to the planning approval.
These related to issues such as road and traffic safety, the protection of existing amenities both during and after demolition/construction and the disposal of waste, and noise pollution.
They also stipulated that the net retail sales area would not exceed 1,338 sq metres; that Lidl install a footpath fronting the site; and that Lidl enter into a connection with Irish Water and Cork County Council to ensure the development was adequately served by water and waste water facilities.
The company was also ordered to pay the sum of €3,917.40 under the council’s Development Contribution Scheme towards the cost of changes required for public infrastructure and facilities in the vicinity of the planned new development.
A full list of the conditions will be available to view by following the links to the planning section at wwwcorkcoco.ie.
This is the third approval given by Council planners for expansions to Lidl stores in the north Cork region, having already granted permission for similar plans of works at the company’s outlets in Mitchelstown and Kanturk.
While both of these were appealed to An Bord Pleanála by RGDATA, the representative body for independent Irish retailers, the decisions were subsequently rubber-stamped by the appeals board.