AN BORD Pleanála has given the go-ahead for a new Aldi store on the outskirts of Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim.
The board found that seven out of eight suggested sites in the town centre were unsuitable because they were liable to flooding.
The development, which had been opposed by the representative group for independent grocers RGdata, is to include at least 88 car parking spaces.
Permission was granted subject to 17 conditions, on a site adjoining the N4 and the Castlecarra Road, on the Dublin side of the town, just 300m from Tesco.
RGdata had argued that the development was contrary to retail planning guidelines, that the site was 800m from the town’s main street and not within walking distance, that customers would be wholly reliant on cars and that there were a number of vacant units and alternative sites available in the centre of the town.
Concern was also expressed about the impact on traffic on the N4, the main Dublin/Sligo route, and the risk of accidents due to increased queuing.
Objections were also received from Mike Bunn and Roger Eldridge who expressed concern about traffic and zoning considerations and also about the impact on the environment, given the “significant” greenery available on the site to support birds.
The developers propose to demolish an existing building and construct an Aldi store including an off-licence with a floor space of almost 1,500sq m. The board’s inspector found that because of the “significant” expansion of Carrick and its status as the county town, the development would not be contrary to zoning provisions or retail planning guidelines.
