Appeal against Aldi Port store lauched
A DECISION by Laois County Council to grant permission for an Aldi store in Portarlington has been appealed to An Bord Pleanala.
The discount foodstore was granted conditional planning permission to construct a single storey licensed discount foodstore with a gross floor area of 1555m2 (net retail area 1125m2) on a site of 0.8996ha.
The proposed development will be served by 100 car parking spaces. It is also proposed to provide 38 car parking spaces to serve the East End Hotel. The proposed development will be accessed via a simple priority junction off Main Street.
The An Bord Plenala objection was brought by David Reed, 28 St. Michael's Park, Portarlington who also lodged an objection with the local authority. In his initial submission, Mr Reed disagreed with the applicant's claim that there is no other more suitable site available closer to the town centre.
"The applicant's dismissal of the relevance of the Cooltederry development which has received planning approval, is unjustifiable. The retail floor area of this permitted development must be considered in the determination of the current application in order to ensure that any growth of the retail sector in Portarlington is sustainable. I feel that the granting of permission for the current application would result in an over supply of retail floor space in Portarlington should both developments be considered collectively," Mr Reed stated.
Another appeal was brought by Elizabeth McNeill, Tara, 3 Station Road, Portarlington who also lodged an objection with the local authority. In that submission she noted that her garden would be overlooked by a warehouse. She outlined concerns about truck deliveries and the noise levels from this, both night and day. She also raised concerns about anti-social behaviour with car parking spaces for a hotel nearby. She also had issues with noise from fridge generator and air conditioning noise close to her back door, 24 hours a day. She also had concerns about compactor noise and waste storage.
Concerns were also raised by Ms McNeill about the public having direct access to her property.
A decision is due from An Bord Pleanala by June 28 next.
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Monday 21 May 2012
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