Plans for Tesco’s off-licence at new village store appealed
TALLAGHT Community Council has lodged an appeal against South Dublin County Council’s decision to grant permission to Tesco for an ancillary off-licence at the vacant former Iceland premises.
The subject site is in the New Bancroft Centre in Tallaght, and Tesco secured planning permission from the council on January 31 last for an ancillary off-license sales area of c. 63.61 sq.m.
It is to be located in the ground floor retail unit and it is noted in the application that an off-licence measuring 62.46sq.m will be displayed in a consolidated and supervised area to the rear of the unit.
They also proposed a “second and much smaller alcohol sales area measuring c. 1.15sq.m securely located behind the check-out area.”
However, they stated that the sale of alcohol will “remain subsidiary” to the use of the retail unit for the sale of convenience goods.
After the council granted permission for ancillary off-licence, the secretary of Tallaght Community Council (TCC), Gerard Stockil, lodged an appeal last month against the decision on behalf of TCC.
He stated that TCC “broadly welcomes” Tesco to Tallaght village but expressed reservations about the ancillary off-licence in the unit.
“The small Tallaght Village area is already very well served by off[1]licences and alcohol sales,” wrote Mr Stockil in the appeal.
“There are clear planning regulations in the LAP [Local Area Plan] and County Development Plan applicable here to avoid an excess of off-licences.
“As the founders and leaders of the Tallaght Tidy Towns, we see twice weekly evidence in the collected litter of the impact of alcohol off licence sales given the current level of retailers.
“Alcohol cans, glass bottles and cardboard box holders regularly make up 60 to 70 per cent of the collected litter.
“The retail unit Tesco Ireland are proposing to open in is poorly serviced by litter bins, internally and externally, raising litter management concerns for us relating to this application.
“A key reason for the appeal is that we believe there has not been an adequate assessment or mention in the decision report of the compliance of the application to the relevant planning legislation regarding creating ‘over concentrations of off-licences’.
He further added: “We do not believe another off-licence outlet positively adds to the village, rather it will create an excess, with negative impacts on the footfall attracted into the retail area of the village, public health and littering of plastics and aluminium in the immediate vicinity.”
A decision on TCC’s appeal has not yet been made by An Bord Pleanála.
The former Iceland unit has lain idle since it closed in September as part of a raft of closures around the country, after the parent company of Iceland in Ireland, Metron Stores Ltd, entered liquidation.
This followed on from staff complaining about missing wages and the air conditioning being turned off – forcing staff to work in sweltering temperatures.
When speaking to The Echo last May, a staff member from the Tallaght store said they were treated like “dirt on the shoes” of senior management, before the company ultimately left the Irish market.
