An Bord Pleanála gives Lidl's Horizon plan the green light

A decision announced today by An Bord Pleanála opens the way for the German discount supermarket, Lidl, to open a new store - its second Mullingar outlet - at the old Horizon site at Grange.

The decision represents a reversal of the decision by Westmeath County Council last year to refuse permission for the supermarket.

Deputy Robert Troy has welcomed the news, saying this represents not just an opportunity for the provision of jobs, but also the regeneration of what had been an empty site.

"That has been a derelict site for a very long time, and it's a large residential area, and the people will welcome the arrival of competition into the area," he stated.

The An Bord Pleanála inspector visited the 0.61ha site in March, and noted that it has been vacant since the Horizon was demolished in 2007.  The Horizon itself went out of use in the 1980s.

In granting permission, nineteen conditions were listed, and the developer is required to comply with these.

Lidl's application was for a single-storey mono-pitch roofed discount foodstore with ancillary off-licence sales, and for provision of a 79-vehicle car park.

The refusal by Westmeath County Council last year was on the grounds that if permitted, the development would become a retailing destination in its own right, and would thus undermine the vitality and viability of Mullingar town centre.

The inspector from An Bord Pleanála ruled that subject to compliance with certain stated conditions, the development would be an appropriate form of development at Grange, and that it would not seriously injure the amenities of the area, or of prroperty in the vicinity.

The conditions are that improved acoustic screening be provided, and revised signage proposals, and that soft landscaping be completed prior to opening of the development.

Other conditions relate to finishes, cabling, construction traffic parking, construction period noise levels, and to construction hours, as well as to water supply and drainage arrangements.

The inspector also laid down as a condition that prior to work starting, the developer submit a revised layout drawing showing a dedicated pedestrian crossing to serve Grange and Woodlands customers.