Planners in Kildare are in the unusual position of having to adjudicate between two similar and competing planning applications for mixed district retail centres on adjacent sites in Naas. In these circumstances, only one can succeed.
Minutes from the M7 motorway, the two adjacent sites for the proposed centres are in the centre of the Monread housing park in the East Naas/Sallins area, halfway between both town centres. While it is widely acknowledged that Naas needs new and improved shopping facilities, the proposed location for the retail centres on one of the busiest roads ringing the town is likely to be a cause of concern for planners.
Both planning applications were submitted within weeks of one another. The first proposal was submitted by Hazelmark Development on September 28 seeking permission for the first phase of 8,838 sq m of what will on completion be a 19,030 sq m mixed development on a 14-acre site on Monread Road, to include a shopping centre and a retail park in phased developments.
Five weeks later, a similar application for the adjacent site was submitted by a company called Castlekeel Limited. It is seeking permission to build a 16,722 sq ft mixed retail development on 15 acres that will also include a district centre with a main anchor unit, 15 retail units and a retail warehouse park element.
Both planning applications were submitted to Naas UDC and Kildare County Council as the land in both cases comes under dual jurisdiction.
Three local developers - Mick McGinn, Frank Cleary and Dennis Curry - are behind the Hazelmark development. Two of the three are also developers of a number of the housing estates on Monread Road, and have owned the 14-acre site for a number of years. This site was long earmarked for a district-type centre.
Larry McKenna of Castlekeel Ltd has also held his parcel of land for a number of years with similar intent. Mr McKenna has been involved with a number of housing and commercial developments in the Kildare area, including Naas, Clane, Maynooth, Kill and Newbridge, over the past 25 year.
The timing would seem to suggest that while both developers had been working on plans for some time, Hazelmark got to the planners first. However, this doesn't necessarily guarantee success to the Hazelmark proposal. Both developers are confident they meet the strict criteria demanded by the planning authorities, including traffic considerations, retail impact studies, an Environmental Impact Statement and adherence to the Retail Planning Guidelines.
Does the similarity of both proposals mean that the planning process will turn into a beauty contest of sorts? John Spain, president of the Irish Planning Institute, can offer no solution to the situation. "It's unusual, and I don't know how the planners will deal with this," he said. Clearing the planning process is a notoriously difficult and timely process, but this case would appear to be even more complicated than usual. "Planners have to assess the first application received before they assess the second, that is due process. Obviously in this case they will have to take the second application into regard, so I guess that changes things," explains Spain.
Declan Kirrane, town clerk of Naas UDC, admits that this is an unusual situation which he has not seen happen before. "Traffic considerations and the suitability of the sites in accordance with the Retail Planning Guidelines and the town's development plan will be the tools of assessment for the applications," said Kirrane.
Galway Corporation's planners faced a similar situation last year. A company called Kenny Developments applied for permission for a mixed retail development at Kingston in 1999, and some months later, Superquinn lodged an application to build a supermarket on an adjacent site. In this case the end-uses, particulars and length of time was sufficient to allow planners to deal with both applications separately. Both were eventually given the go-ahead.
According to Naas councillor Seamie Moore, consideration for the anchor tenants of both centres will play a role in the decision process. "At this point, we are not sure what divides one from the other but we will be looking at traffic, proposed entrances, parking facilities and of course the anchor tenants." There has been speculation that Superquinn, the main supermarket in the centre of Naas, has been looking for an alternative location on the outskirts of the town for the last two years.
Naas desperately needs new retail facilities. At present there are too few facilities in the town to serve the needs of the growing population. Due to its location close to Dublin on the M7 motorway, Naas experienced huge growth in the last few years. Substantial numbers of family and first-time buyer homes have been built, and continue to be built, in the area. However the retail expansion of the town has not kept pace.
Acknowledging the need for retail facilities, town clerk Declan Kirrane said: "Out of town centres are prohibited under the current town development plan; however, having said that, we generally recognise that the retail sector needs to be strengthened in Naas, especially when you compare it to Newbridge."
