A Catholic priest, Fr Harry Bohan, has expressed fears for local retailers in a Co Clare town in response to plans by German supermarket giant Lidl to build a store there.
The application by Lidl for Main Street in Sixmilebridge is facing local opposition. Fr Bohan told Clare Co Council in a submission that the town “is changing fast, probably too fast. Our local, human, social values are threatened”.
He said: “We need our local shops and businesses to survive, always did. When they are threatened we need our community to be aware of that threat.”
Fr Bohan asked: “Are The Bridge people well enough serviced by discount stores in the surrounding area?”
Local retailer Flora Crowe welcomed the intervention of Fr Bohan in the planning row.
Ms Crowe said: “Fr Harry is a visionary and has always been a huge supporter of community and supporter of all businesses in Sixmilebridge. If he believes in that then we need to take stock of what he says.”
Ms Crowe operates two retail outlets locally, employing 50 people and the enterprise is this year celebrating 40 years in business.
Ms Crowe said: “Lidl may not come in overnight and close us down but they will slowly edge away and they will take from our business.
In her formal objection against the proposal, Ms Crowe told the council: “I believe the proposed Lidl store would seriously undermine the economic viability and social fabric of Sixmilebridge.”
In a planning report lodged by consultants for Lidl, Tony Bamford Planning, it states that Lidl Ireland GmbH is proposing the development “of a relatively small supermarket”.
Mr Bamford said: “The development will not have a material, adverse impact on the vitality and viability of the town centre of Sixmilebridge. The proposed development accords with the prevailing retail objectives for the town and that must take precedence over diversion of trade from competing retail.”
Mr Bamford states that “overall, the application site is the optimal location for the proposed supermarket, given its proximity to the town centre, meeting the criteria for suitability, availability, and viability, and adhering to the guidelines and requirements for retail development”.
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