By Brendan Carroll

Galway City Council has refused permission for a discount retail chain to continue to use a building in the Riverside Commercial Estate on the Tuam Road for the sale of bulky goods.

Planners said that the use of three units there by DIY, home and garden store Homesavers ran contrary to the zoning of the site, which was for enterprise, industry, and related uses.

The building containing units 9-12 in the estate had been badly damaged by fire in 2011 and subsequently rebuilt exactly as it had existed.

Tom Coyle earlier this year applied for planning permission to retain the reconstructed 1,149 sq m building and for a change of use of the premises from warehouse with ancillary retail use to bulky retail.

Homesavers, which has occupied the units since 2020, is described by the company as a fast-growing Irish retailer established in 2018, with over 50 stores across the country, offering a diverse range of products, from fast-moving consumer goods and homewares to health and beauty, and gifts.

A submission accompanying the planning application said they were predominantly a ‘bulky retailer’, with such goods making up more than 90% of items stocked in a high-quality commercial development.

However, city planners have rejected the planning application, which also sought retention of a wall-mounted sign on the side of the building and the provision of a bike stand and internal staff changing/welfare facilities.

A planner’s report pointed out that the site was zoned I – ‘to provide for enterprise, industry, and related uses’ – under the current City Development Plan (CDP), which stressed the need to retain these I zoned lands to accommodate light industrial uses and services which were required to support the whole of the economy needs.

“Currently, these enterprises are particularly concentrated at Mervue, along and off the Tuam Road and the Monivea Road.

“The CDP states that there is a need to protect these lands for such industrial uses which can come under threat from higher value uses and this can be done effectively through policies and land use zoning objectives.

“These lands also accommodate businesses that do not fall into the categories supported by Enterprise Ireland or the IDA and will also provide opportunities for start-up indigenous businesses and the new emerging economies in the city,” the report added.

It ruled that under the I land use zoning objective, the only retail uses open for consideration were restricted to wholesale trade.

The Council considered that the proposed bulky goods retail development would conflict with the retail policies of the City Development Plan, including its policy to restrict and direct bulky goods retailing to existing identified retail parks and to a more limited extent to district centres.

Pictured: Homesavers: City planners say the building is zoned for other uses.