Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 February 2005
525 Mr. McHugh asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if officials in his Department were opposed to the removal of the retail floor space cap outside Dublin; the reason he rejected his officials' advice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4910/05]
View answer526 Mr. McHugh asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the independent, expert planning and other assessments he carried out before arriving at his decision to change the retail planning guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4911/05]
View answer537 Mr. McHugh asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he sought the views of the National Roads Authority, NRA, and the Dublin Transportation Office on the proposed change to the retail planning guidelines; the views of same on the proposed change; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5118/05]
View answer538 Mr. McHugh asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if, in view of the fact that a company — details supplied — has agreed to operate smaller format stores in the UK as a result of the planning regime there, he will review his decision to allow for smaller format stores as agreed for the UK; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5119/05]
View answer539 Mr. McHugh asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of submissions received in his Department on the retail planning guidelines review; the number of submissions in favour of retaining the guidelines; the number in favour of changing the guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5120/05]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 525, 526 and 537 to 539, inclusive, together.
I recently announced the decision to amend the retail planning guidelines, with effect from 1 February 2005, to provide that the floorspace cap on retail warehouses will no longer apply within the functional areas of the four Dublin local authorities and in the other national spatial strategy gateways. The gateway towns and cities are Athlone with Tullamore and Mullingar, Cork, Dublin, Dundalk, Galway, Letterkenny, Limerick with Shannon, Sligo and Waterford. This modification to the guidelines will only apply in areas subject to integrated area plans, IAPs, under the Urban Renewal Act 1998.
The amendment to the retail planning guidelines follows a review of the floorspace cap on retail warehouses, which was set in 2001. These guidelines had prescribed a maximum floor area of 6,000 sq. m. in gross retail floorspace for large-scale single retail warehouse development. This cap has been reviewed, taking account of the need to promote effective competition in this sector of retailing and of ongoing developments in retail formats, while continuing to respect proper planning and sustainable development.
Following the closing date for the receipt of submissions pertaining to the review, my Department arranged for the preparation of reports summarising the main points raised in the submissions on the review and the analysis of those submissions, with particular reference to the arguments for and against lifting the overall restriction on the size of retail warehouses nationally, as specified in the guidelines, in the context of the issues of traffic impact, the impact on city and town centres and the implications of any change for the national spatial strategy. Two of the reports prepared in this context recommended no change in the existing guidelines.
In concluding the review of the retail planning guidelines, I considered a number of options. These included making no change in the existing guidelines, abolishing the overall size cap on retail warehouses nationally, increasing the size cap, making a specific amendment to the guidelines to allow for large-scale unique format stores, and providing for the non-application of the size cap in certain specified areas.
Taking account of the submissions made during the review and various analyses carried out by my Department I decided, with the approval of the Government, that the revised retail planning guidelines would provide that the existing floor space cap of 6,000 sq. m. gross on a single warehouse development would no longer apply in those areas which are the subject of integrated area plans under the Urban Renewal Act 1998 within the functional areas of the four Dublin local authorities and in the other national spatial strategy gateways. The revised guidelines also specifically provide that to be acceptable from a planning point of view, individual retail warehouses in excess of 6,000 sq. m. must be located close to a road network with sufficient capacity to cater for development of the scale proposed, that any proposal for such a retail warehouse must be accompanied by a traffic impact assessment and that any potential impact on the vitality and viability of town centres will be an important consideration to be taken into account by planning authorities in determining applications for such development. My Department did not commission any specific independent research or studies during the review of the guidelines.
The National Roads Authority did not make any submission to my Department in relation to the review of the retail warehouse cap. The Dublin Transportation Office made a submission to my Department during the public consultation period, in which it indicated that it did not favour any change to the existing floorspace cap on retail warehouses.
With regard to suggestions that the company referred to has agreed to operate smaller format stores as a result of the planning regime in the UK, my Department has no specific information in this regard apart from the reports in the media. I am aware, however, that the company has a network of 13 stores in the UK. Eight of these are in excess of 20,000 sq. m. and all of them are in excess of 15,000 sq. m., that is, more than double the size of the floorspace cap which applied to retail warehouses in Ireland.
To assist in carrying out the review of the floorspace cap, interested parties were invited to make submissions to my Department. Some 71 submissions were received and assessed. Of the 71 submissions received by my Department, 48 submissions were in favour of retaining the existing cap, 19 were in favour of the cap being increased or abolished, and four submissions did not come down on either side. These submissions were fully taken into account in the finalisation of the review.
