- Target:
- An Bord Pleanála
- Region:
- Ireland
Passage West/Monkstown has a population of 6,000 people. Although it is a designated satellite town, it has no supermarket. A large purpose-built supermarket was built at the entrance to the town in 2008. Eurospar served the town from here until the supermarket was closed by a receiver in 2017. Since then, residents of Passage West must travel to do their weekly shopping. Passage West has a poor retail offering generally and residents are very anxious for the supermarket to reopen.
Aldi purchased the former Eurospar building. They applied to Cork County Council for planning permission to make some changes to the building in preparation for the opening of a store to serve Passage West and its nearby catchment. Cork County Council granted planning permission. That grant of planning has been appealed to An Bord Pleanála. There is general dismay amongst the residents of Passage West at the prospect of delay in the opening of the store or, worse, at the prospect of the appeal being upheld such that Aldi's planning application might be refused.
This petition is to assist the people of Passage West in conveying their desire for the promised Aldi store to An Bord Pleanála. It will be sent to the Board as a collective observation from the people of Passage West in respect of the planning appeal.
We, the undersigned, wish to make an observation on appeal ref. ABO-301328-18 taken in respect of a planning application by Aldi Ireland for modifications to an existing retail store in Passage West. These modifications will facilitate Aldi's opening an outlet in Passage West. Passage West is a designated satellite town of 6,000 people, yet has no supermarket. Residents of the town have to travel by bus or car to the nearest settlements of Douglas or Carrigaline, some 7km and 9km distant respectively, to do their weekly shopping. Both Douglas village and the R610 connecting Passage West to Douglas are notoriously congested. The bus connecting Passage West to Douglas is sporadic and unreliable. Carrigaline town is also notoriously congested and there is no bus connecting Passage West to Carrigaline. To establish an Aldi store in Passage West would reduce car journeys, reduce road traffic congestion and provide badly-needed local services. Moreover, Aldi proposes to establish its Passage West outlet in an existing, purpose-built supermarket on a prominent site with good road frontage, adequate car parking and significant passing traffic. In doing so, Aldi would be putting this currently vacant retail unit at the entrance to the town to its purpose-built use. We ask the Board to please support the Passage West community by granting planning application ABO-301328-18 so that Aldi can put its eminently practical and eagerly awaited proposal into action.
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The Support for the Planning Application for Aldi in Passage West petition to An Bord Pleanála was written by Marcia D'Alton and is in the category City & Town Planning at GoPetition.