Council makes decision on Lidl's plans for second Athlone store

Plans for a second Lidl store in Athlone have been given the go-ahead.

The German discount retail company submitted a planning application for the development at O'Meara's Garage, Galway Road, Baylough/Bogganfin, Athlone on March 16 last.

It proposed a single-storey discount food store with an off-licence, a restaurant/coffee shop and surface car parking spaces.

The retail project is earmarked for the site of the current O'Meara's Garage in Baylough, and would involve the demolition of the existing garage and three adjacent homes and a new vehicle entrance off the Galway Road.

The Lidl store itself will span some 2091 square metres with a total net sales space of circa 1,450 square metres comprising food of 1,160 square metres, and ancillary non food of 290 square metres

Westmeath County Council yesterday granted planning permission for the development, subject to 16 conditions.

Details with the planning application state that the development will be accessed by way of what's described as a “vehicular priority junction” off the R446 Galway Road with an additional pedestrian access from the eastern boundary onto the R914 Roscommon Road stretch, along with 108 car parking spaces

Lidl estimated turnover at the Baylough outlet would be between €9.8m and €11.3m per year.

In a planning assessment prepared for the council, consultants for Lidl said: “This development will create 35-40 new jobs in an area of high and sustained levels of unemployment.

In September 2019, previous proposals for the same location by Lidl fell foul of planners after they ruled it would "exacerbate traffic congestion" in an area zoned for residential development.

They also voiced concerns about the design, siting, scale and its location so close to the junction of the two regional roads, the R446 and R914.

The new planning application, granted permission yesterday, attracted 14 submissions from members of the business people and traders, some supportive and some opposed to the project.

Those who made submissions are entitled to appeal the planning approval to An Bord Pleanala.

See our print edition on Wednesday for more details.