AN Bord Pleanála has again rejected an appeal from Aldi to overrule Clare County Council and allow the development of a new store and cafe/restaurant opposite Shannon’s Town Centre.
There has been considerable local support for allowing Aldi to go ahead with the development, with a lot of frustration about the lack of development in Shannon in recent years.
However, Clare County Council and An Bord Pleanála have both now ruled twice against Aldi, with the project not having advanced at all since the first planning application was lodged more than five years ago.
An Bord Pleanála inspector Adrian Ormsyby reviewed Clare County Council’s decision to again reject Aldi’s application.
While he disagreed with the Council’s contention that the development should not be allowed on grounds of zoning or lack of pedestrian links to the existing Town Centre, he was still against it being given the green light.
In the report he stated, “Having regard to the prominent location of the site in the centre of Shannon Town, the layout of the proposed development, the predominantly single storey form of the building, and the overall design of the proposal, it is considered that the proposed development fails to provide a satisfactory level of urban design and street frontage, height, presence and definition at this prominent urban street location on lands identified as the ‘Central Area’ and zoned ‘Town Centre’ as set out in the Shannon Town and Environs Local Area Plan 2012–2018 (as extended).
“Furthermore the proposed development does not provide strong relationship and linkages to its site context and to adjoining areas, including the adjacent future civic park directly east of the application site and identified as OS1 on the Zoning maps.
“The proposed development would, therefore, seriously injure the visual amenities of the area, would be contrary to Objective 5.9 of the Local Area Plan and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.”
He also said that allowing it to go ahead would undermine the Shannon Town Centre Masterplan.
“The proposed development would undermine the delivery of Policy Objective 10 of the Limerick-Shannon Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan as set out in the Regional Spatial Regional Spatial & Economic Strategy for the Southern Region which seeks the redevelopment of Shannon Town Centre through the delivery of an Action Area Plan.
“Consequently the proposed development is considered premature pending the formal adoption of the Shannon Town Centre Masterplan. Therefore, the proposed development is considered contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.”
Councillor Donna McGettigan said that she was very disappointed with the decision.
“It is very disappointing for the town, people say that we don’t have enough choice in the town and where they were going to go, there would have been connectivity straight over to the Town Centre.
“They were willing to put in a pedestrian walkway and it’s not like it’d have been built on the outskirts of the town, drawing people away. The more choice the more that people would come in.”
She said she didn’t know if Aldi would make adjustments and seek planning permission for what would be a third time, but she said that local people feel that such decisions by planners are leading to serious local frustration.
“The people of Shannon now feel like they’re being left behind.”
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.