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The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government
issued these guidelines under section 28 of the Planning and
Development Act 2000. Planning authorities and An Bord
Pleanála are required to have regard to the guidelines in
the performance of their functions under the Planning Acts.
2. Aim of the Guidelines
The purpose of the guidelines is to provide an updated and
comprehensive retail planning and development framework to
guide:
regional authorities in preparing retail policy objectives in
regional planning guidelines;
planning authorities in preparing and implementing development
plans;
planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála in assessing
planning applications or planning appeals; and
retailers and developers in formulating development
proposals.
The guidelines have five key policy objectives as follows:
Ensuring that retail development is plan-led;
Promoting city/town centre vitality through a sequential
approach to development;
Securing competitiveness in the retail sector by actively
enabling good quality development proposals to come forward in
suitable locations;
Facilitating a shift towards increased access to retailing by
public transport, cycling and walking through careful location and
design in terms of catchment area; and
Delivering quality urban design outcomes.
3. Floorspace Caps
3.1 Convenience retail floorspace caps
4,000 M2 in the four Dublin local authority areas (i.e. Dublin
City, Fingal, South Dublin and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County
Councils);
3,500 M2 in the four other main cities of Cork,
Limerick/Shannon, Galway and Waterford; and
3,000 M2 in the remainder of the State (i.e. those areas
outside of the four Dublin local authority areas, and the cities of
Cork, Limerick/Shannon, Galway and Waterford).
These floorspace caps refer to net retail floorspace as defined
in the guidelines.
3.2 Retail warehouse floorspace cap
6,000 M2 gross and with specific criteria to allow for an
exemption from this floorspace cap in city and town centre areas in
the five Gateway cities of Dublin, Cork, Waterford,
Limerick/Shannon and Galway.
For the foreseeable future, therefore, the cap on large-scale
single retail warehouse units in excess of 6,000 M2 gross
(including any ancillary garden centre) will remain, due to their
potential effect on the surrounding road network and their
potential for creating local monopolies which would inhibit
competition within local catchment areas.
Proposed exceptions to the 6,000 M2 retail warehouse cap may be
considered on the merits of individual development applications in
the five Gateway cities of Dublin, Cork, Waterford,
Limerick/Shannon and Galway.
In order to be acceptable from a planning perspective, any
proposal for an individual large scale retail warehouse with a
floorspace in excess of 6,000 M2 gross in the Gateway Cities must
demonstrate that the proposal:
will accommodate predominantly bulky goods under one roof,
together with a. range of customer facilities (e.g. restaurant,
crèche), on a scale which requires a regional, if not a
national, population catchment;
is in accordance with the Planning Guidelines on Spatial
Planning and National Roads in that the proposal can demonstrate
that the development will not adversely affect the efficiency of
the national road network and key junctions and interchanges and
that it can be demonstrated that traffic volumes can be
accommodated within the design assumptions for such roads, taking
account of the opportunities for encouraging a modal shift towards
more sustainable travel modes;
will be served by existing or planned public transport
services;
will make adequate provision for those opting for home delivery
of goods other than by private car;
will be accompanied by a traffic impact assessment,
demonstrating compliance with the above criteria; and
will take account of the vitality/viability criteria in respect
of city/town centres. set out in these guidelines and avoid the
incorporation of uses and activities, as part of the development,
which are more appropriate to city and town centre locations.
3.3 Petrol filling station shops floorspace
cap
100 M2 net irrespective of location.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
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