Tesco launch new bid in Portarlington
tesco have made a second bid to build a supermarket on a flood risk land in Portarlington.
An Bord Pleanala rejected the retail giant’s application back in November 2008, as they said the site off the link road for the store was in a special area of conservation.
The planning body also said that the scale and bulk of the proposed building, and the unsatisfactory visual character of the service area compound would seriously injure the amenities of the area.
The site along the River Barrow was flooded after heavy rainfall in the town, while An Bord Pleanala were considering the application.
The new application, which was submitted by Pharaway Properties on March 23, includes a riverside buffer zone for the ten town centre shop units and civic centre which is proposed for the site.
In support of the application, agents for the Property Company, Tony Bamford Planning said they were “confident that the general layout of the project accords with local policy and responds positively to the environment, while addressing concerns the Bord had with the previous application.”
But they acknowledge that there will be a number of matters which would require more detailed investigation during the course of the planning application, including flooding and nature conservation. It adds that wider analysis will be required in respect of flooding matters.
Mr Bamford said during pre-planning they had engaged with National Parks and Wildlife Services in the preparation of their application, but he said substantive feedback could only be provided once a formal planning application is made. He said the new proposed Civic Building is situated to provide a visual link to the Portarlington Market Square and its design and scale is intended to provide an “attractive, recognisable presence from the Main Road.”
According to the planning application, public seating will be provided in a leisure and tourism zone, which as a multi-functional space can facilitate public or private events.
The application explains that the ten retail units have been organised “to provide a continuation of the existing town centre. New riverside landscaping will be designed to be ecologically compatible and “will have a low impact on the existing flora and fauna of the current riverbank.”
The planning application also included a letter from Tesco, consenting Pharaway to lodge the application.
A decision is due by the council by mid May.
When Tesco last submitted a plan it committed to carry out flood defence works along the River Barrow as part of an overall multi-million plan for the site.
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