20 new jobs for Tullamore if Lidl store gets green light

In the region of 20 new jobs will be created if German retail giant Lidl's plans to open a second Tullamore store gets the green light from Offaly County Council.

 In a statement released to the local media this week, Lidl says that it has been "working closely with our architects and planners over the past number of months to prepare a planning application for our second store in Tullamore, a new state-of-the-art, modern retail store is proposed for a site located between Church Road and Tanyard Lane".

The store will incorporate a retail floor area of 1,670 square metres, including a bakery. “The application for the new store was lodged last week with Offaly County Council and includes the provision of a new link road between Church Road and Tanyard Lane that will help to reduce traffic travelling through the narrow section of the Tanyard Lane linking into the Hophill Roundabout."

Lidl says that the proposed new store "will significantly regenerate the existing town centre zoned site". The application also includes details for the development of a second standalone unit for a creché facility.

Lidl currently operates 153 stores nationally and employs over 4,200 people. In a recently commissioned economic report, it was found that Lidl buys over €500 million of Irish goods and services annually.

The retail giant will find out on November 20 whether An Bord Pleanala will overturn Offaly County Council's decision to refuse planning permission for a new store Birr. Local planners said that it turned down the application as the development would have been "incongruous within the landscape".