Planning denial could ‘cost town 90 jobs’

A KERRY County Council decision to turn down a planning application for a shopping development in Castleisland could cost the town 90 jobs, it was claimed yesterday.

Local businessman Tony Walsh said he was “astonished” at the refusal of permission for his proposals for a retail site on the Tralee Road.

There was already a lot of unemployment in Castleisland, he said.

“It’s almost beyond belief that a plan that would generate business and employment locally could be shot down by our county council,” he said.

Mr Walsh, whose printing firm Walsh Colourprint employs 85 people in Castleisland, said he would fight the decision with the backing of councillors who had been supportive of his plan from the outset.

The proposed development would include a 45,000 sq ft retail unit and three smaller units.

The Garvey supermarket group, which has a large store in Castleisland, objected to the development.

According to the county council, the land in question is zoned for industrial use and rezoning the site for retail use would contravene the zoning objectives of the Castleisland local area plan.

The council said the development, because of its out-of-town location, would “adversely affect the viability and vitality of the existing town centre”.

However, Mr Walsh disputed the council’s explanation.

“When Tesco applied to build a supermarket on the edge of the town, last year, the planners fully supported it. They said it would enhance the attractiveness of the town centre,” he said.

“Now they’re saying the opposite. That just doesn’t make sense.”

The latest Castleisland refusal is one of a number of controversial planning decisions in relation to shopping centres in the county.

Tralee town councillors came under heavy fire from the public, last year, after they refused M&S permission to open a store in the town’s Manor West retail park.

M&S has since decided to move to Killarney where it is due to open for business in May.

Plans by Tesco to open stores in Castleisland and Listowel last year were turned down by An Bord Pleanála following appeals by other business groups.

In addition, plans by the Garvey Group to open a new supermarket on the edge of Dingle town have run into opposition, with more than a dozen objections being lodged against the development by locals, including Dingle Business Chamber.