€2m supermarket could be sunk by bypass route

The backer of the proposed €2 million Lidl supermarket off the Western Distributor Road in Knocknacarra has been warned the application may be affected by one of the city bypass routes.

Last December, Florence Thomas sought permission for the new development, just months after a similar application was shot down by the Planning Appeals Board.

However, city planners have now written to the applicant advising that the site abuts the proposed ‘red’ bypass route.

They advised that consultations should take place with the project consultants.

“Please note that the period after the lodgement of this application, a number of route options for the N6 Galway City Transport Project have been published, in this case you are requested to comment on the location of the red route, which will abut your site, and clarify how it may impact your proposed development and any submitted details such as the transportation/traffic calculations/movements, if at all. You may wish to discuss this issue with the project team,” planners said.

They also requested lighting layout plan for the development needs to be submitted as well as the repositioning of ‘totem’ signage on the site.

Planners have also sought further details on the design of the access road from the Western Distributor Road, the finishes of the boundary walls and the proposed landscaping scheme, which should include a buffer to the left of the access road.

The application is for a single storey mono-pitch roofed discount foodstore with off licence over a gross floor area of 1,894 square metres (net retail area of 1,271 sq m) on the two-acre site bounded by the Ballymoneen Road and Distributor Road.

The supermarket, if permitted, would take between five and six months to build, creating 24 construction jobs, while creating up to 25 full-time jobs in the supermarket. It has a projected annual turnover of more than €8.5 million.

Vehicular and pedestrian access will be from the Distributor Road, and pedestrian access via Ballymoneen Road.

And a Master Plan for the area suggests possible future uses for adjoining lands including further neighbourhood uses, open spaces, residential development and pedestrian routes.

Last August, An Bord Pleanala turned down an almost identical application on the site, ruling there should be a mix of uses in the neighbourhood centre (for which the site is earmarked in the City Development Plan) rather than a single retail building, and the development would not be welcoming for pedestrians and cyclists.