Roads body has 'serious concerns' over Ikea

The National Roads Authority (NRA) is one of seven parties to appeal against Fingal County Council's decision to grant permission for an Ikea store in Ballymun, Dublin, because it has "serious concerns" over the impact it would have on the national road network.

In its appeal to An Bord Pleanála, the NRA said the proposed 30,000sq m Swedish superstore, close to the Ballymun Road junction of the M50, would probably cause "substantial queuing which is likely to extend back on to the M50 itself". It said this would cause "unacceptable" traffic distribution on a critical artery around Dublin which serves as a vital link to Dublin International Airport and Dublin Port.

Almost €1 billion is being invested in the upgrading of the M50 and the authority said the benefits to users of the motorway should not be "jeopardised or prematurely undermined".

The Green Party's transport spokesman, Eamon Ryan TD, along with Cllr David Healy said the store, which is earmarked for a 31-acre site west of Ballymun Road, should be moved to a more appropriate site in the area. "Ikea is now failing to get permission for out-of-town car-dependent sites in the UK and is in consequence applying for city-centre sites," they said in their appeal.

In its submission to the planning board, developer Treasury Holdings said the development would result in the M50 "being used effectively as a distributor route to serve the store". Its principal concern is the potential negative impact on one of its projects, the redevelopment of Ballymun town centre.

Tesco Ireland said while it supported the arrival of Ikea, the proposed access arrangements would affect its ability to distribute from its depot opposite the proposed store.

Another high-profile business concern, Grafton Group, which owns the Heiton Buckley Builders Merchants and Sam Hire at the junction of Santry Avenue and Swords Road, said the increased traffic would have a detrimental effect on its business.

Appeals were also submitted by the Irish Hardware and Building Materials Association and frequent M50 user Pat Brown from Tallaght, who said it was "unreasonable" to locate a major retail outlet at the junction, adding that this was "attested to by the problems caused by the development of Liffey Valley shopping centre".