Clare County Council has refused planning permission for a new retail unit at Ballymaley Business Park on the grounds that it would impact the vitality and viability of Ennis Town Centre.
Twilbury LTD had sought to sell household goods, furniture, equipment, applicances and tools from the proposed Gort Road site.
The unit in question was most recently used on a temporary basis by the HSE as a Covid-19 testing centre and currently comprises a vacant cash and carry wholesale, storage and distribution outlet.
In a cover letter supporting the application , John Spain Associates on behalf of Twilbury LTD stated that “It is acknowledged in the MidWest Retail Strategy 2009, included in Volume VIII of the County development plan that there is significant bulky goods retail leakage to Limerick.
The firm says that therefore “the sale of household goods from Ballymaley Business and Retail Park by established operators, who cannot be accommodated in Ennis Town Centre is considered appropriate and helps address leakage of expenditure out of the County and reduces the need for unnecessary retail trips.
The application site is noted as being less than a 10 minute drive from Ennis Town Centre and 3 minute drive
from the Barefield junction on M18 Limerick /Galway Motorway.
The indicative list of goods to be sold at the proposed site included a variety of Bedroom, Bathroom, Kitchen, Living Area furniture, Laundry storage and cleaning, Home Décor and Seasonal items.
However, Clare County Council has refused permission for the development on the grounds that the nature of goods proposes to be sold and that the location situated at a remove from Ennis town centre would impact the vitality and viability of Ennis town centre.
