Plans unveiled to develop new Lidl store in County Roscommon

Lidl Ireland is set to lodge a planning application with Roscommon County Council to develop a new discount store in Monksland, it has emerged.

In a planning notice erected on Friday at the proposed site in South Roscommon, the German retailer confirmed its intention to apply for planning permission to develop a discount foodstore with a gross floor area of 2,358sqms.

The plans also include a separate 145.8sqms café/restaurant with a sheltered outdoor seating area along with another retail unit of 145.4sqms.

The development is being planned on a three acre site on lands to the south of the T junction on the R362 and immediately south of the Joe Duffy cars showroom, L-7596-0, Monksland, Athlone, County Roscommon.

The plans will also include plaza areas between the discount foodstore and café/restaurant unit and fronting onto the road; car parking spaces; a set down area for taxis; cycle stands; and the provision of a footpath and cycle path along the west boundary of the site.

The site notice outlines that the site will be serviced by a new vehicle access towards the south of the site with land set aside to access lands to the east of the site.

Plans to develop a similar Lidl store on a greenfield site of 0.914ha in the same area were turned down by the council in November 2023. The local authority refused permission for the supermarket plans, citing a number of grounds including that the proposed development would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.

The applicant at the time, MCS River Village Limited, proposed a single-storey retail facility comprising 2,200 square metres with the potential to create up to 40 new jobs.

An unsuccessful appeal was lodged with An Bord Pleanála, which upheld the council's original decision.