Plan for new Lidl store in Fermoy on hold
Plans by Lidl to replace its shop in Fermoy, Co Cork, with a larger one are being put on hold following an objection by a member of the public.
This follows the lodging of an appeal with An Bord Pleanála against Cork County Council’s approval of the demolition of the existing Lidl store and of the disused Touch of Luxury carpet-and-furniture store on Courthouse Rd, Fermoy, and their replacement with a large, licensed discount foodstore.
The new Lidl store would be 2,167sq m and would include an off-licence and bakery and parking spaces for 140 cars. Cork County Council had said the development by the German supermarket chain would not, subject to 28 different planning conditions, adversely affect the vitality and viability of Fermoy town centre, and would not seriously injure the amenities of the area or detract from local heritage.
Council planners said the proposed store would also be acceptable in terms of traffic safety and convenience.
However, the council’s ruling has been appealed by Michael Riordan of Ballinahena, Fermoy — the sole member of the public to make a submission on the development — to An Bord Pleanála.
Although not objecting to the principle of the new store, Mr Riordan said he believed its design and layout were inappropriate, given the site’s location, on one of the main approach roads to Fermoy.
“This prominent gateway site demands a building of much higher quality and merit than is currently proposed,” Mr Riordan said.
The appeal will set back plans by Lidl by at least six months, with a ruling by An Bord Pleanála not expected before early 2019.
Lidl has already secured planning approval for the expansion of two of its other outlets in north Cork — Kanturk and Mitchelstown — in recent years, despite objections from RGData, the representative body of independent supermarkets.
Lidl said it wants to build a bigger store in Fermoy to “future-proof the retail operability of this location, with particular regard to staff and customer-welfare facilities.”
It said the development would not impact the Blackwater River special conservation area.
