The high volume of traffic on most new roads and congestion on the M50, particularly during rush hours, is increasingly being cited by the planning authorities as the main reason for refusing planning permission for further retail warehousing in a number of locations in the Dublin area.

The Irish Hardware & Building Materials Association and RGDATA, representing the independent grocery sector, are leading the campaign against large-scale concentrations of superstores because of the threat they pose to local traders.

Two weeks ago An Bord Pleanβla refused planning permission for the extension of the Blanchardstown Centre Retail Park in west Dublin on the grounds that it would result in an over-concentration of retail warehousing and the fact that it would create serious traffic congestion.

The decision came as a severe blow to developer Green Property, which had already agreed pre-let terms on most of the 150,000 sq ft development. Many observers felt that Green's chief executive Stephen Vernon had been badly advised when he called a press conference to announce the retail scheme only a week before An Bord Pleanβla was due to deliver its judgment. Brave as ever, Green Property is now planning to reapply for permission for what is likely to be a scaled down retail scheme at Blanchardstown.

British hardware retailer B&Q, which will open its first long-awaited Irish outlet in Liffey Valley Retail Park next April, was to have been the anchor tenant and had signed up to take 100,000 sq ft. There were to be five additional retail units of 10,000 sq ft each, a multi-level 1,000 capacity car-park and offices in the £30 million (€38 million) development.

B&Q has also run into trouble in Swords where the planners agreed with Woodies that a superstore in Airside Retail Park would have an adverse impact on existing retail shopping outlets and that a store of such scale would be premature, given that work on a section of the M1 between the airport and the area north of Swords is not yet completed.

The £50 million (€63.48m) Airside development was to have had 340,000 sq ft of retail buildings but was reduced to 194,000 sq ft by An Bord Pleanβla because of the uncompleted M1 motorway between Dublin Airport and Swords. The developer, Albany Homes, obviously holds out hopes of eventually securing permission for the original scheme.

This week it got a considerable boost when the planning appeals board granted permission for two single-storey retail warehouses with a gross floor area of 53,711 sq ft and a three-storey building with almost 50,000 sq ft. Atlantic Homecare and DID Electrical are two of the main retailers located here. Rents range from £14.50 to £18.50 (€18.42- €23.49)

The Liffey Valley Retail Park in West Dublin has a total of 10 stores with 168,000 sq ft of space. Currys, PC World and Atlantic Homecare are all established here while a substantial 107,500 sq ft B&Q store is well underway. Agent for the development, Michael Conroy of Hamilton Osborne King, is confident that the good road infrastructure in this location can easily accommodate the massive volume of business forecasted for the park.

However, An Bord Pleanβla clearly took a different view in March 2000 when it refused permission to double the size of Liffey Valley shopping centre to 500,000 sq ft. The development was to have included a stand-alone store for Tesco. The board ruled that the traffic generated by the proposed development "would tend to create serious traffic congestion" because of its nature and scale. Like Green, Bankhill Ltd, controlled by Cork-based developer Owen O'Callaghan and the Duke of Westminster, will obviously have another shot at enlarging Liffey Valley in the new year.

Another major test of the planners' attitude to retail warehousing will come early in the new year when Park Developments lodges a planning application for a major scheme in south Dublin. It is likely to be within the existing guidelines of 151,000 sq ft.

While the north and west sides of Dublin have a heavy concentration of purpose-built retail parks - Airside in Swords, Blanchardstown Centre, Westend Retail Park in Blanchardstown, Coolock, Northside Retail Park, Royal Liver on the Naas Road and the Janelle Centre in Finglas which is still under construction - the south Dublin area does not have a single purpose-built park. However, it does have a string of stand-alone retail warehouses in places like Sandyford.

There's a huge pent-up demand for a modern retail park on the south side of the city, according to agent Fintan Tierney of Lambert Smith Hampton. "The high land values in south Dublin have meant that developers have been opting to build offices and business parks in order to achieve high returns. But now that the bottom has fallen out of the office market land is more likely to be considered for retail warehousing and we're likely to see proposals for retail parks here very soon," he said.

Michael Conroy agrees that the next significant development is likely to be in south Dublin. "I wouldn't be surprised to see a number of developers seeking planning permission for a scheme in early 2002," he said.

In Dundalk, Co Louth, a new 220,000 sq ft retail park is due to open before Christmas. The centre has a particularly modern appearance and about 25 per cent of the space was pre-let before construction commenced. This is one of the biggest schemes currently under construction.

The retail park market is also booming outside of Dublin, with new developments in locations like Mullingar, Letterkenny, Athlone, Sligo, Castlebar, Limerick and Newbridge. The Cork market is currently underdeveloped but has huge potential according to Fintan Tierney. A planning decision is awaited on what promises to be a significant mixed development comprising shopping centre and retail warehousing in the Mahon area of the city.

Demand is still strong from British and continental retailers looking to grab a slice of what is still considered an underdeveloped market. However, the development of this market has not been without problems. The introduction of a size cap of 60,000 sq ft on this type of retail outlet has curtailed proposals by many, including Swedish furniture retailer IKEA, whose requirements for a minimum size of 150,000 sq ft prevents them from establishing an Irish outlet.

The Retail Planning Guidelines introduced earlier this year state "large scale single retail warehouse units in excess of 6,000 sq m (61,000 sq ft) gross (including any ancillary garden centre) are unlikely to be acceptable due to their effect on the surrounding road network and their potential for creating local monopolies which would inhibit competition with the local catchment areas".