Permission granted for another new supermarket in Tullamore
Hot on the heels of the official opening of Tullamore's second ALDI store at a town centre location later this week, Offaly County Council has granted planning permission for a new 2,100 sq.metre supermarket – understood to be SuperValu - on the outskirts of the town.
The planning authority granted permission to the applicants, Cedarglade Ltd., with an address at Musgrave House in Cork, for a 2,100 sq m supermarket, a 240 sq m cafe with outside seating, a 110 sq m pharmacy, a 78 sq m shop, 135 car parking spaces and 26 bicycle spaces on lands at Collins Lane which are owned by Golden Vale Co-op Mart Limited.
Cedarglade Ltd, is a subsidiary of Musgraves, which is the company behind the SuperValu and Centra brands.
The plans make provision for the construction of a new link road, via the roundabout to the north west of the site, along with pedestrian connections to the neighbourhood centre from Collins Lane.
The subject site is located 2km north of Tullamore town centre, and in close proximity to the Jehovah Witness Kingdom Hall, the Educate Together primary school and the recently-completed Hawthorns housing development.
The planning application attracted two submissions, with Grapemont Ltd, whose director is Tony Flanagan, welcoming the project but adding that the development of a neighbourhood centre at this site “should be supported, providing only if it is of a scale which supports the small, localised catchment” in the vicinity of the Collins Lane neighbourhood, and that it would not impact “the vitality and viability of the town centre towards which retail development of a scale larger than 'neighbourhood' should be directed.
The Grapemont submission also brought the attention of Offaly County Council that the sequential assessment “excludes any reference to the extant permission at Opportunity Site 6, (Church Road) for approximately 14,000 sq m total retail floorspace granted permission by An Bord Pleanala on May 2021, which is land zoned for Town Centre/Mixed Uses, is without constraint for commercial development and is available for development.”
The second submission, from the HSE, requested that all necessary precautions be taken to control “dust and rodents” arising from the building work so as not to present a nuisance to occupiers of adjoining premises, and that all precautions also be taken to prevent “noise impact” from the proposed development.
The planners report prepared by Brock McClure Planning & Development Consultants, which accompanied the original planning application by Cedarglade Ltd., noted that the Collins Lane area has been the subject of “significant development in recent years” and referenced planning permission having been granted for six new residential developments which would bring a total of 1,554 new people to the surrounding area “and all within walking distance of the subject site.”
It added that the proposed development would “add to the vibrancy of the area” and deliver a new street frontage along Collins Lane which would “significantly improve on the current condition” of the area.
The existing site was described in the planning report as being “under-utilised” and noted there was “an urgent need for a retail development of this nature” within the northern area of Tullamore. It described the vision of the proposed scheme as being one which would create “a unique sense of place with a strong community identity characterised by the public plaza to act as a prominent focal point set within the area.”
The planners report also said that public realm upgrades as part of the proposed development would “transform the currently under-utilised site and together with surrounding recently permitted development will create a quality mixed use environment.”