Public meeting hears that Monksland 'needs a Lidl help'

Local residents in Monksland showed their appetite for a Lidl foodstore last Thursday evening (June 18) with a large turnout at a meeting in support of the retailer's plans to set up shop in the area.

An estimated attendance of more than 70 people gathered at Monksland Community Centre for the public meeting, which was organised by local resident Mark Francis.

Sinn Féin TD for Roscommon-Galway, Claire Kerrane, and the new chairperson of the Athlone Municipal District in Roscommon, Cllr Emer Kelly, spoke in support of Lidl's plans during the meeting, which was also attended by Fine Gael Senator Gareth Scahill and councillors Valerie Duffy and Laurence Fallon.

There were apologies from councillors John Keogh, Domnick Connolly, and Tony Ward, while Independent Ireland Roscommon-Galway TD Michael Fitzmaurice arrived just after the half-hour meeting ended.

Speeches at the meeting emphasised the continuing population growth of the Monksland area, and the feeling that services for residents hadn't kept pace.

Lidl Ireland lodged a planning application with Roscommon County Council on May 27 last for a single-storey discount supermarket and off licence that would be located beside the Joe Duffy car sales showroom, and across the road from the Athlone Springs Hotel.

The new planning proposal comes after a previous bid for a Lidl store on the same site was refused by the council and An Bord Pleanála in recent years.

Public submissions on the new planning application can be made until Tuesday next, June 30, and attendees at the meeting were encouraged to lodge submissions urging the council to give the store the green light this time.

At the outset of the meeting, Hillcrest resident Mark Francis said it had been arranged to highlight "the need, the want and the demand for a choice of where people do their weekly shopping".

He spoke about how the population of Monksland had risen to about 6,000 people, making it "a major town" which needed more facilities.

"Each housing estate has its own individual identity. As a community, we're very lucky insofar as, down through the years, we've had very little anti-social behaviour or serious trouble of any nature whatsoever," he said.

"But as the years progressed, and the population exploded, one thing that has been drastically missing is a certain particular type of infrastructure."

He said that he knows people in Monksland who are "driving on a weekly basis to Ballinasloe or to Roscommon to do their weekly shopping," and that approving a Lidl store in the area would bring environmental benefits by eradicating many of those journeys.

"I wonder how many tons of emissions are blown every time somebody (in Monksland) drives to Roscommon or to Ballinasloe, and back again, to do their shopping.

"This (Lidl store) will cut down on car usage. It will cut down on unnecessary and unwanted journeys to Ballinasloe, to Roscommon, and even to the far side of Athlone," he said.

He also referred to how Lidl's current plans included a coffee shop with an outdoor covered seating area, and an additional retail unit.

"It will create employment here in Monksland. The knock-on effects, with things like the coffee shop, will create further employment. From what I can see, it's a no-brainer this time," he said.

Deputy Claire Kerrane told the meeting she had been in contact with representatives of Lidl and was told the current application had sought to address the reasons why the previous planning bid was refused.

"They said that access was an issue last time, as we'll as sustainable transport, so they've (designed) better footpaths, walkways, cycleways, taxi ranks and charging points, and they feel they've ticked that box," said the TD.

She said that the need for an additional supermarket was something that came up regularly at her constituency clinics in Monksland, and that she would be making a planning submission to the council in support of Lidl's plans.

A similar message was expressed by Cllr Emer Kelly, who said all of the local politicians were in favour of Lidl's plans.

"As councillors don't have a direct say in planning applications, and whether they're (approved) or not, but we are liaising with the planners in Roscommon on this and I know, from my own perspective, I will be making a submission in support of this application.

"The important thing is that the council, or An Coimisiún Pleanála if it gets there, sees that the community are fully behind this (proposal). So we would encourage people to put in a submission," Cllr Kelly added.

When the meeting was opened to contributions from the floor there were no volunteers to speak, so Mark Francis brought the gathering to a close by encouraging the councillors present to bring a motion to the next local authority meeting calling for the planning bid to be approved.

"It's civil servants that are going to make the (planning) decision at the end of the day," he said.

"But I think it would be political suicide if they were to go against the wishes of their county council, their sitting politicians from the county, and collectively the population of Monksland which totals around 6,000 people. It would be madness."

Roscommon County Council's planning decision is due to be made by July 21.