Planners have denied Dunnes Stores permission to expand its existing store in the suburbs of Limerick due to its potential impact on the city centre, Limerick Live reported this week.
Better Value Unlimited Company – which is part of Ireland’s biggest supermarket-by-market-share’s group – sought permission to expand the existing Childers Road store into the vacant premises beside it.
Its neighbouring store used to house Life Style Sports, though the sports retailer has ceased trading there.
Dunnes Stores has operated the store – which is in Limerick One Shopping Park – since 2005.
Currently, the store sells clothing and homeware, in addition to food.
Expansion Plans
According to Limerick Live, the application stated that the retail floor space would increase by 645 square metres without adding a separate entrance, maintaining the same entry point that currently exists.
In documents submitted to council planners, Better Value Unlimited wrote, ‘The purpose of this application is to create a modest area of additional comparison floor space needed to improve the layout of the store’s fashion and homeware departments and make the departments within easier to browse with a shopping trolley.’
Comparison, in this case, referred to non-food items, such as clothing and homeware.
Agents noted that the store serves a population of 7,000 people.
Rejection
The company added that there had been no substantiative improvements to the store in the two decades since it opened.
It noted, ‘This will be a substantial investment by Dunnes Stores reflecting improvements made in other stores, including Jetlands Shopping Centre in Limerick.
‘The re-use of an empty unit is a fundamental component of any urban renewal project and thus constitutes a tangible benefit.’
There were no formal objections to the expansion, however, council planners rejected the bid, noting that it ran counter to a number of blueprints.
It noted that among the issues was that the expansion would contravene objective Econ 02 from the Limerick Suburbs Reality Strategy.
The objective states, ‘It is an objective of the council to ensure proposals which would undermine the vitality and viability of Limerick city centre will not be permitted.’
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