Vol. 574 No. 2
310 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government if a decision has been made to retain the cap on retail floor space, as supported by the Irish Hardware and Building Materials Association, to maintain coherent policies on retail planning, sustainability, spatial development and transport management; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26664/03]
On 19 August I announced a review of the retail planning guidelines on the floor space cap on retail warehouses contained in the guidelines. At present the guidelines prescribe a maximum floor area of 6,000 square metres gross retail floor space for large scale single retail warehouse development. This cap is being reviewed, taking account of the need to ensure effective competition in this sector of retailing and ongoing developments in retail formats, while ensuring proper planning and sustainable development. Central to this review will be the potential impact of the national spatial strategy on the guidelines and the need to ensure that cities and towns have the range of retail facilities that supports their attractiveness and competitiveness for investment and population growth.
To assist in carrying out the review, I invited interested parties to make submissions to my Department. The closing date for receipt of submissions was 3 October and my Department received 64 submissions. They are being assessed and will be taken into account in considering whether changes are needed in the guidelines. No decision has yet been made as to whether the floor space cap on retail warehouses will be retained. The review process will be concluded in the coming months.
