Major new supermarket proposed at Kilbeggan M6 service station
The owners of the M6 Service Station in Kilbeggan are seeking to develop a new supermarket for Kilbeggan, according to planning documents lodged with Westmeath County Council.
A 31-page planning statement and retail assessment report which accompanies the planning application by Kilbeggan Supermarket Ltd., for their premises on the Tullamore Road in Kilbeggan states that the M6 Service Centre proposes to extend its foodstore in Kilbeggan to address “a significant under-provision of basic convenience goods” in the town.
The plans, which were lodged with Westmeath County Council on January 23 last, the construction of a single storey 505 square metre extension to the existing service station building which is intended to cater for retail use with relocated off-licence and deli area.
The existing service station “will become ancillary to the new retail facility” according to the planning documents.
The plan involves demolition of 32 square metres of the existing shop building, and removal of an existing storage ashed.
Also being sought as part of the planning application is permission for a reconfiguration of the internal floor layout of the existing building to provide retail area (492 sq.m), deli area (78sq.m) and a seating area (72sq.m), with ancillary off licence area (30sq.m).
The applicants are also seeking permission for alterations to the existing shop frontage with associated signage and they are planning to increase the number of parking spaces on the site by seeking the go-ahead for 13 additional car parking space and six e-charging spaces with three 200kw charging units and power unit.
The planning statement and retail assessment report which accompanies the planning application points out that the M6 Service Centre is located in a residential area at the edge of Kilbeggan town centre which is currently “experiencing growth” including a planned 74-house development and the recently-opened Kilbeggan Primary Care Centre.
“The petrol station shop is currently overtrading due to the lack of retail options in the town for residents of the town and its hinterland. The shop is regularly busy and has adapted the products sold to meet customer demand.
It said the vast majority of sales are driven by local persons doing daily shopping and weekly shopping.
“The use of the shop for weekly shopping has become more and more common as local residents seek to avoid a 10kmdrive into Tullamore to do their shopping. It is not uncommon for customers to use shopping trolleys in the shop.”
The retail assessment also says that Kilbeggan, which is designated as a "Self-Sustaining Growth Town," currently lacks “sufficient retail infrastructure to meet its growing population's needs” with existing convenience stores being “smallscale and limited in variety.” The report concludes that this forces residents to rely on car trips to larger towns like Tullamore, Moate, and Kinnegad for “even the most basic shopping tasks.”
Comparative analysis carried out by the report's authors, Tony Bamford Planning, shows that similar towns, such as Moate and Kinnegad have “larger retail facilities that better serve their populations” and the report states that the proposal in the planning application before the council “seeks to enhance Kilbeggan's retail capacity and reduce unsustainable car journeys for basis shopping.”
The retail assessment also describes the current retail offering in Kilbeggan as “very weak” and “exceptionally poor” for a town of its size and states that, in addition to this proposal, the town requires a “mid-sized supermarket” similar to the offers in Moate and Kinnegad to provide “more choice” to the town's growing residential population.
Westmeath County Council is due to make a decision on the planning application by March 19 next.