No second Mullingar supermarket for Aldi

Aldi has been refused planning permission for a second Mullingar supermarket.

An Bord Pleanala have overturned Westmeath County Council's decision to grant planning permission for the construction of a new Aldi store on the Dublin Road on the site of what was Buy Lo.

According to the report by An Bord Pleanala's planning inspector, the German retail giant's project was refused permission for two reasons: firstly, that the lack of 'adequate car parking spaces, loading area and turning space...would endanger public safety by reason of a traffic hazard'; the inspector Fiona Fair also felt that: 'The proposed development would constitute over development of a restricted site and result in undesirable piecemeal development of lands zoned for mixed use development...'

The council's decision to give the multi-million euro project the green light on February 7 was appealed to An Bord Pleanala by BMA Planning acting on behalf on James and Anne Buckley, proprietors of SuperValu on Austin Friars Street.

According to BMA Planning's appeal, the proposed development was, amongst other things, "contrary to the vitality and viability of the town centre".

An Bord Plenala's decision has been criticised by Cllr Aidan Davitt. The Fianna Fail man said that the planning authority should not have overturned the council's "considered" decision to give the project the go ahead.

Cllr Davitt noted that in addition to the employment that the supermarket would have created, its construction would have been much welcomed by the residents of the large number of estates in the vicincity of the Dublin road such as Lakepoint and Gleann Petit.