Decision due on Moate Aldi store plans today
The fate of a new proposal for an Aldi store in Moate is due to become public today (Wednesday, November 22) with the promise of 30 new jobs should it progress.
In June, Aldi Stores (Ireland) Ltd applied for planning approval to develop a discount foodstore and 117-space carpark on a vacant site on the Athlone Road approach to Moate.
In its planning application, the German discounter said the proposed €6.8m store would "greatly serve the town and wider rural landscape" by enabling people to "conduct their big weekly shop in the local town rather than having to travel further distances to other settlements for their shopping".
Pending planning permission, Aldi has previously indicated it is aiming to open the store in the autumn of 2025, creating up to 30 permanent jobs, while it's estimated up to 50 jobs will be supported during the construction period.
On August 8 last, the project was put on hold when the council requested further information from Aldi under a number of headings, including the need for a pedestrian crossing on the Athlone Road, a query about site levels, delivery times/volumes, traffic safety and the need for a construction and environmental management plan for the 0.98 hectare site.
The developer subsequently lodged a series of reports in October to address the concerns of the local authority, saying it believed the extra data “satisfactorily addresses” the items raised in the further information request.
It added that the applicant had engaged with relevant third parties in a bid to ensure that “residential amenity at surrounding properties is preserved and respected” by the proposed development.
A submission in support of the proposed Aldi branch was received in July on behalf of the Moate Community Development Association, which endorsed the project on a portion of the former Roseland Ballroom site noting that it would be "a very positive development" for the town.
Neil Dolan, an estate agent residing on Lake Road in Moate, also made a submission encouraging the council to award planning permission. He wrote that the development was "a wonderful opportunity for the future growth and expansion of the town," and one that would provide a "much needed" jobs boost.
Another submission, from residents Jimmy and Ger Redmond, of Hall Road, Moate, welcomed the development overall but asked for measures to be taken to limit night-time deliveries and to prevent potential anti-social behaviour in the vicinity of the store site. In the further information submitted, the multinational clarified that deliveries would happen at 7am in the morning and would involve one or two per day.
A new landscaped civic space is proposed in front of the store which would, according to Aldi, "significantly improve the existing public realm on offer" on the prominent site approaching Moate town.