Ikea to lodge application today

Swedish furniture giant Ikea is to lodge a planning application with Fingal County Council today for its first Irish retail superstore.

The 30,000sq m (323,000sq ft) outlet in Ballymun, Dublin, will be the first of its kind in the State and will bring an estimated 600 jobs to the area.

The company intends to make a separate application for an outlet in Belfast within three weeks. Depending on the outcome of the planning process, Ikea hopes to open both stores in the first few months of next year.

The Dublin store is proposed for a 12.7 hectare site on lands forming part of the Ballymun Regeneration Zone bounded by Ballymun Road to the east, the M50 to the north and St Margaret's Road to the south.

A business park, science and technology laboratories and academic facilities are designated for the remainder of the 40 hectare site. Concerns over the potential traffic impact of the development, particularly on the already-congested M50, have been raised by councillors and the National Roads Authority.

The Ikea store could increase traffic on the M50 by 12 per cent at peak shopping times and is dependent on the M50 upgrade, the inclusion of new slip roads, the planned realignment and upgrade of the St Margaret's Road, and the eventual development of the Swords metro.

A spokeswoman for the council said last night that traffic issues would form part of the consideration of the planning application. Today's application is the result of more than a year of talks with Fingal county planners.

The size of outlet required by Ikea was previously prohibited by planning legislation, but was made possible by the relaxation of the Retail Planning Guidelines by Minister for the Environment Dick Roche last January.