COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, April 09, 2018

MOTION NO.3

MOTION: Councillor T. Gilligan, Councillor W. Lavelle, Councillor E. Higgins

That this Council requests the Chief Executive to initiate a variation to the Development Plan to alter the zoning matrix for the RW (Retail Warehouse) zoning by making ‘Shop Neighbourhood’ open for consideration and by the insertion of ‘Specialist Forms of Retailing’ as open for consideration.

REPORT:

The Retail Planning Guidelines (the Guidelines), the Retail Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2008-2016 (the Retail Strategy) and the South Dublin County Council Development Plan 2016-2022 (the Development Plan) set out planning policy in relation to retail development.

The Guidelines define retail goods into two (2) categories: (i) convenience goods; and (ii) comparison goods.

Convenience goods include food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, tobacco and non-durable household goods.

Comparison goods include clothing and footwear, furniture, furnishings and household equipment (excluding non-durable household goods), medical and pharmaceutical products, therapeutic appliances and equipment, educational and recreation equipment and accessories, books, newspapers and magazines, goods for personal care, goods not elsewhere classified, and bulky goods.

The Guidelines define a “Retail Park” as “A single development of a least three retail warehouses with associated car parking” and a “Retail Warehouse” as “A large single-level store specialising in the sale of bulky household goods such as carpets, furniture and electrical goods, and bulky DIY items, catering mainly for car-borne customers”. A retail park is a location where comparison goods are sold.

The Guidelines state that the number of retail parks has grown substantially over the past decade and have reached saturation point in some cases. This has led to vacancy in some retail parks and the blurring of the definition of the goods permitted to be sold in retail parks. Furthermore, due to the fact that the range of goods being sold from retail parks often includes non-bulky durables, there is potential for a detrimental impact on city/town centres as indicated by the number of vacant units in urban centres where retail parks exist on the periphery. The Guidelines recommend that the impact of this type of development on retail parks should be assessed. This assessment was undertaken as part of the review of the Development Plan. As a result the Development Plan zoned the lands “RW” which is in accordance with national planning policy as set down in the Guidelines.

The aim of lands subject to Retail Warehousing “RW” zoning objective is to accommodate the consolidation of existing retail warehousing in SDCC and provide suitable locations for new retail warehousing floorspace. The Development Plan zones four (4) locations in SDCC “RW”:

The Fonthill Retail Park consists of a mix of uses including retail warehousing and discount foodstores. The existing discount foodstores were granted planning permission under planning policy which has been superseded by the Guidelines and the Development Plan.

On 15 February 2018, (under file ref SD17A/0094 / PL06S.248674) An Bord Pleanála (An Bord) refused planning permission for retention of change of use of 670 sq. m of retail warehouse to shop, internal alterations consisting internal walls and associated works at Dealz, Unit 3, Fonthill Retail Park, Fonthill Road, Dublin 22.

An Bord upheld South Dublin County Council’s (SDCC) decision to refuse planning permission for this application. An Bord refused planning permission for the following reason:

“Having regard to the zoning provisions of the Development Plan for the area within which the site is located, ‘Objective RW – to provide for and consolidate Retail Warehousing’, the ‘Retail Planning Guidelines for Planning Authorities’, issued by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in January, 2012, the Retail Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2008-2016 and the retail hierarchy set out in the South Dublin County Development Plan 2016-2022, it is considered that the change of use to be retained would be contrary to policies and objectives aimed at restricting the role of retail warehousing to the retailing of bulky goods and would seriously injure the vitality and viability of existing designated town centres and major retail centres in the vicinity. The change of use to be retained would, therefore, materially contravene the development plan and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area”.

Since the adoption of the Development Plan, neither SDCC nor An Bord have granted planning permission for any other similar comparable type of planning application on lands zoned “RW”.

It should be noted that there are instances throughout SDCC where land uses do not conform to the zoning objective of a site. These include instances where such uses were in existence on 1st October 1964 (prior to planning legislation), or have valid permission, or have no permission and may or may not be subject of enforcement proceedings.

Fonthill Retail Park is identified as an established cluster and the Development Plan’s “RW” zoning is promotes the consolidation of the cluster. The Development Plan zoning table for “Retail Warehousing” aligns with the Guidelines in terms of the nature and type of retail development that can be permitted, open for consideration and not permitted.

The Development Plan defines “Shop-Neighbourhood” as “smaller shops giving a localised service in a range of retail trades or businesses such as butcher, grocer, newsagent, hairdresser, dry cleaning or launderette, and designed to cater for normal neighbourhood requirements. It can also include a small supermarket on a scale directly related to the role and function of the settlement and its catchment and not exceeding 2,500sq.m. net retail floorspace”. The Development Plan does not permit “Shop-Neighbourhood” is the “RW” zoning. The inclusion of a “Shop-Neighbourhood” use as an “open for consideration” use on “RW” zoned lands would therefore not be consistent with the objective of RW zoned lands which is “to provide for and consolidate retail warehousing”.

A “Shop-Neighbourhood” use would be more appropriately accommodated adjacent to existing or new residential development and within the Urban Centres of SDCC as reflected in the land use zoning objectives and tables where the use is generally permitted in principle or open for consideration in the following zonings: Existing Residential “RES”, New Residential “RES-N”, Regeneration “REGEN”, Town Centre “TC”, District Centre “DC”, Village Centre “VC”, Major Retail Centre “MRC” and Local Centre ‘LC’.

The Guidelines and Development Plan do not define “Specialist Forms of Retailing”. However this type of retail use is generally identified as shops that specialise in a single product (e.g. carpets, furniture and electrical goods). These types of uses are permitted in principle in “RW” zone. The Planning Inspector’s Report associated with An Bord decision under file ref SD17A/0094 / PL06S.248674 did not support the proposition that the products on offer in Dealz are specialised.

As a result it is not considered appropriate that the Development Plan is subject to a variation as proposed by virtue of the fact that there is no policy support for such a change. A variation as proposed would be contrary to the Guidelines, the Retail Strategy and the Development Plan policies and objectives which are aimed at restricting the role of retail warehousing to the sale of bulky goods. Furthermore it would seriously impact on the vitality and viability of existing designated town centres and major retail centres in the area and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development.