Planning granted for scaled down warehouse complex

Planning permission has been granted for a scaled down retail warehousing park near Swords in north Dublin. Last June, An Bord Pleanala refused to give consent for a high-profile scheme was almost twice the size of the newly proposed development. Fingal County Council has now given the go-ahead for nine buildings with 180,000 sq ft of retail units on a 25-acre site on the eastern side of the M1 between Dublin Airport and Swords.

The earlier scheme was to have included 340,000 sq ft of space in 15 units but was blocked by the planning appeals board on two important grounds.

The board accepted the argument from a neighbouring trader, Woodies, that the inclusion of a store of 110,000 sq ft - rumoured to have been targeted at the British DIY chain B & Q - would have been a "category killer", hoovering up all the trade in the catchment area.

The second ground for refusing permission was that a retail park of this size would be premature until work has been completed on a new section of the M1, from the airport to a just north of Swords.

The board made it clear that a single retail warehouse in excess of 64,583 sq ft, including any ancillary garden centre, would be unacceptable because of the affect it would have on the surrounding road network and nearby towns.

Property developer David Daly, who is promoting the Crowcastle scheme at Swords, has now secured permission under the revised scheme for nine units varying in size from 2,750 sq ft to 35,000 sq ft. The second largest building with 25,295 sq ft has been designated a fast-food outlet by Fingal County Council.

The size restrictions may mean that B & Q will be looking elsewhere for its first Dublin store. The company has apparently accepted it will not get planning permission for anything like the 110,000 sq ft superstore it had sought. It is now understood to be looking for a well-located building of 60,000 sq ft at other Dublin suburban venues, including Liffey Valley, Blanchardstown and Cherrywood.

In the meantime, An Bord Pleanala is to hold an oral hearing shortly on a series of objections to the granting of planning permission for a factory outlet shopping complex at Goffs, on the Naas Road, near Kill, Co Kildare.