Decision due on a second Lidl for city this October
A decision on whether a second Lidl store in Sligo gets the go ahead will be made in October by An Bord Pleanála.
Sligo County Council gave the planned store at Finisklin the green light at the end of February but an appeal was lodged against that decision at the end of March with An Bord Pleanála setting October 9 th as its date for finalisation.
Church Road Development Ltd has applied for permission for a foodstore, restaurant/office use in converted mill on lands bounded by Lyons Terrace, Finisklin Road and Union Place. Cathal McGuinness of Cleaheen, Boyle has lodged an objection engaging town planners, Braniff Associates of Malone Road in Belfast who have lodged a detail submission.
“While Mr McGuinness is generally supportive of investment in Sligo he has little option but to appeal the decision of Sligo County Council to permit another large foodstore outside the city centre at a time when it is desperate for investment,” said Dr Tony Quinn, Principal at Braniff Associates. It is submitted that the proposed Lidl store is contrary to zoning objective in Development Plan; there is poor connectivity between the site and the city centre; there is lack of need for retail development; vacancies highlight vulnerability to adverse retail impact and traffic impact is also mentioned. It is submitted that proper planning and sustainable development of the area would dictate that retail development of this type, if justified, should be directed to the city centre.
The objection also points out that while it is acknowledged the site is technically an edge of centre location, it is worth noting that the further information submitted by the applicant’s traffic consultants concedes the walking distance to the junction of Wine Street and O’Connell Street was in excess of half a kilometre.
“The application site is physically separated from the city centre by the four-lane, tree-lined N4 Inner Relief Road,” it stated. The submission further states that there were alternative sites which could have been explored including Wine Street car park originally envisages as a Centre Block Masterplan. The applicant dismissed this expansive site, which is mainly used for unsightly surface car parking on the grounds that extant planning permissions for retail use exists on this land by Dunnes, Tesco and Callside. However, it is important to recognise that these permissions point to the suitability of the land for retail development. Despite this, no evidence was submitted by the applicant that the feasibility of opening a foostore was explored with these stakeholders.”