Tesco in Bantry

sonnyblack

Righteous_Bob wrote: »

There was activity in the field (holes being dug, men in hi-viz jackets wandering around) on a number of days a couple of weeks ago so something is happening. Whether anything else happens beyond that is another story.

Any update lately Righteous? The big problem that a prospective Lidl or Aldi will have will have is that if they try to change the existing design of the granted unit with a new application, they will open themselves to a slew of objections heading to An Bord Pleanala again.

It will be interesting to see if anything comes of this rumour.

shamrock55

Let it go folks, it aint gonna happen,nothing does in this town unfortunatly, at least we had rumours before we dont even have that now:rolleyes:

Righteous_Bob

sonnyblack wrote: »

Any update lately Righteous?

Nope, zero activity in the field since then

shamrock55

When i do my shopping in just about every west cork town except bantry,( macroom,dunmanway,skibb and clon) the amount of bantry people doing their shopping in these places on a regular basis is staggering

shamrock55

Anyone else hear the rumour going around that aldi are going into the site behind rowa where tesco were ment to go

sonnyblack

shamrock55 wrote: »

Anyone else hear the rumour going around that aldi are going into the site behind rowa where tesco were ment to go

Shamrock, I heard that as well and it's meant to be cast iron in as far as any rumour in the town can be. Looks like the german landowner has got sick of the local boys and is getting a bit of german efficiency involved. She was heard to say recently that the deal was done.

I only hope that they build the unit as is and not be trying for planning for any design changes. That would open a pandoras box of observations, objections and appeals and delay it all again for another year. What a boost for the town if it comes to pass. Hopefully the mod will be changing the name of this thread to 'Aldi in Bantry'. The Bantry Bay hotel is meant to be re-opening as a steakhouse, hostel and nightclub shortly. The Westlodge hotel is being re-developed. Both run by consortiums of young local lads. Phase 1 of the inner harbour will start in Q4 2015. Finally the town has an opportunity to head in the right direction and locals will have a bit of variety in retail. Of course wherever Aldi go Lidl will follow. It's all very interesting.

shamrock55

sonnyblack wrote: »

Shamrock, I heard that as well and it's meant to be cast iron in as far as any rumour in the town can be. Looks like the german landowner has got sick of the local boys and is getting a bit of german efficiency involved. She was heard to say recently that the deal was done.

I only hope that they build the unit as is and not be trying for planning for any design changes. That would open a pandoras box of observations, objections and appeals and delay it all again for another year. What a boost for the town if it comes to pass. Hopefully the mod will be changing the name of this thread to 'Aldi in Bantry'. The Bantry Bay hotel is meant to be re-opening as a steakhouse, hostel and nightclub shortly. The Westlodge hotel is being re-developed. Both run by consortiums of young local lads. Phase 1 of the inner harbour will start in Q4 2015. Finally the town has an opportunity to head in the right direction and locals will have a bit of variety in retail. Of course wherever Aldi go Lidl will follow. It's all very interesting.

Never realised the bay was gonna be a steakhouse i thought they were just reopening the bar aswell as hostel and nightclub, also thats all money from the states i wouldnt say they were young or local lads but tbh that doesnt matter , also id nearly rather an aldi then tesco lets just hope all this development comes to fruition

sonnyblack

Folks, the plot thickens. Heard a cast iron rumour that contracts would be signed between the ROWA landowner and Lidl before the end of the month. This has been the most firmed up report I've heard so far so fingers crossed.

shamrock55

Crap i was hoping it would be aldi, but we will take it, hopefully aldi will follow like they usually tend to follow eachother

sonnyblack

shamrock55 wrote: »

Crap i was hoping it would be aldi, but we will take it, hopefully aldi will follow like they usually tend to follow each other

To be honest Shamrock don't rule Aldi out yet until the contracts are signed. Then we'll know for sure. You are right though, if one comes in the other will follow. It's all good.

celticbouy

all gone quiet again on the aldi /lidl front ,anybody know whats happening
with the new marina

shamrock55

celticbouy wrote: »

all gone quiet again on the aldi /lidl front ,anybody know whats happening
with the new marina

Yea " nothing" thats what, anyone hear that heatons are moving into vickerys:D

sonnyblack

Emailed port of cork in relation to the above and was told the following:

Contract award - December 2015

Works commencing - January 2016.

Makes sense not to start before Christmas I guess. No doubt there will be an announcement for the award and contract signing.

Bring it on.

ofcork

They were talking about this on c103 this morning some meeting coming up about no lidl/aldi in bantry

bigbrotherfan

I know lots of people from Bantry who travel out of Bantry to to do their weeky shopping, if or when they can. Clonakilty, for example has Supervalu, Dunnes, Lidl etc but Bantry doesn't.

CJhaughey

Apparently Aidan Maccarthy wrote in a submission objecting to the Lidl/Aldi being located outside the town, he wanted it to be in the town centre possibly knocking the boys club to build it there.
The only recreation place left in Bantry and he would like to knock it.
The handball alley was already knocked to make a carpark!

ofcork

Someone on 96 with pj this morning about it

bigbrotherfan

Surely there must be somewhere else that can be knocked, within the town. I've seen some new Aldi and Lidl stores built in the most unexpected and unusual places, including petrol stations. Shouldn't be any need to knock the Boys' Club. Mind you, a lot of the Aldi and Lidl stores are on the outskirts of other towns, around the country.

sonnyblack

If you don't have retail in and around a town you won't get footfall. It's as simple as that. The combination of a new Lidl and new Supervalu both with proper parking will bring business to the town and benefit all businesses, pubs restaurants and shops. This nimby attitude has been holding the town back for the last 100 years. The mart was lost to Bandon because business owners didn't want to wait a couple of weeks to get paid when the farmers would sell their animals on mart day. The boys club is the only public amenity in the town for sports. It was built by the townspeople and will never be demolished. That site is dead. Supervalu own the former Hurleys garage site up by the library. Why can't they move their wholesale business out by Murphy & O'Connors and let Aldi in there. They can then build their main store down by Townlots. Skibbereen and Clonakilty have all the shops and the towns are booming. It's a potentially win win situation for the town to get these shops in and the 1200 people who signed a facebook page know this. The big numbers attending a public meeting to bring Lidl to Bantry recently know this as well.
Hopefully there will be a decision before Christmas by An Bord Pleanala to allow both Lidl & Supervalu to proceed. This combination together with Phase 1 of the Town Harbour re-development will finally start to put the town on the map again. Aldi may well follow Lidl. Bantry has the finest natural scenery in West Cork and hopefully people will get the retail choices they deserve.

bantry16

There seems to be a lot of untruths surrounding the Lidl/Bantry debate at the moment.

The vast majority of people who are against the current proposal aren't against the idea of another supermarket in Bantry, we all know Bantry is long overdue a choice in retail and we are currently haemorrhaging business travelling to Skibbereen, etc.

The people against the proposal are against the location. It's well known that building shopping centres out of easy access to town centres has a negative impact on a towns vitality. Look at Skibbereen, they have a Lidl and SuperValu and now an Aldi within walking distance of the town centre. The centre of town is bustling and the small shops there are benefiting hugely as a result. If those supermarkets were built outside of Skibbereen town, like proposed in Bantry, do people honestly believe that they would bother wandering into the town to all the small shops, cafes, etc? Anyone who has been to Tralee recently can see what damage out of centre shopping centres can do to a town, the Tralee town centre is dead.

The optimum solution is to find a site (or amalgamation of sites) as close to the town centre as possible. It's obviously much easier and cheaper for a developer to chose a greenfield site and most people seem to of the opinion that we should get a new supermarket here as soon as possible no matter what the cost. There are a number of possibilities around the town but they need a bit of imagination and money to get developed:
- There was an Aldi approved near the library, why isn't that being developed?
- The boys club site has huge potential (I think the idea was to incorporate a new sports facility with a supermarket, not lose the Boys Club all together, there is loads of space there for both)
- There's also potential for development up by the church.

If I was a developer I would be looking for the easiest site to develop too, I just don't think it's the best for the developer is necessarily best for the town in this case.

We are all screaming out for a new supermarket in Bantry, it would just be a huge shame if we settled on a site outside of town and live to regret it in the future.

Ghost Train

ofcork wrote: »

They were talking about this on c103 this morning some meeting coming up about no lidl/aldi in bantry

Recording of that below
https://www.c103.ie/news/lidl-debate-for-bantry-continues/

sonnyblack

bantry16 wrote: »

There seems to be a lot of untruths surrounding the Lidl/Bantry debate at the moment.

The vast majority of people who are against the current proposal aren't against the idea of another supermarket in Bantry, we all know Bantry is long overdue a choice in retail and we are currently haemorrhaging business travelling to Skibbereen, etc.

The people against the proposal are against the location. It's well known that building shopping centres out of easy access to town centres has a negative impact on a towns vitality. Look at Skibbereen, they have a Lidl and SuperValu and now an Aldi within walking distance of the town centre. The centre of town is bustling and the small shops there are benefiting hugely as a result. If those supermarkets were built outside of Skibbereen town, like proposed in Bantry, do people honestly believe that they would bother wandering into the town to all the small shops, cafes, etc? Anyone who has been to Tralee recently can see what damage out of centre shopping centres can do to a town, the Tralee town centre is dead.

The optimum solution is to find a site (or amalgamation of sites) as close to the town centre as possible. It's obviously much easier and cheaper for a developer to chose a greenfield site and most people seem to of the opinion that we should get a new supermarket here as soon as possible no matter what the cost. There are a number of possibilities around the town but they need a bit of imagination and money to get developed:
- There was an Aldi approved near the library, why isn't that being developed?
- The boys club site has huge potential (I think the idea was to incorporate a new sports facility with a supermarket, not lose the Boys Club all together, there is loads of space there for both)
- There's also potential for development up by the church.

If I was a developer I would be looking for the easiest site to develop too, I just don't think it's the best for the developer is necessarily best for the town in this case.

We are all screaming out for a new supermarket in Bantry, it would just be a huge shame if we settled on a site outside of town and live to regret it in the future.

Unfortunately, this point has been made over and over again and is the primary reason why there is no new retail in the town. There are no viable sites in the town. The boys club is not a viable site with a river running through it as well as the existing towns sporting amenities. No developer is going to go anywhere near it as the infrastructural costs would go though the roof before any building is erected. The Lidl site is located near the town playground. Surely that can't be considered 'out of town'. It's on a greenfield site that can be developed quickly. The townlots site will be taken up entirely by the new Supervalu. The former Hurleys garage site is in Supervalu ownership for their wholesale business and will remain so. Why would they sell to Lidl or Aldi? They would have done by now if they were going to do so. The reason is simple. It would harm their business. They are the only sites in the town. It's all about the footfall and having a reason to bring people into the town. A new Lidl will do exactly that. This is why all other towns in West Cork have plenty footfall and businesses are booming and Bantry is being left behind. You mention about 'the people' against the proposal. Who are 'the people'? There is only one person that has appealed the planning to An Bord Pleanala? The massive attendance at a recent public meeting in favour of Lidl would seem to indicate large numbers wanting it to come to town.

bigbrotherfan

You might say there are no sites in the town but I've seen Aldi building on the site of a garage, where I would have thought there was no chance at all of building and I did dismiss it when I first heard it. I must admit now that I was wrong.

Sometimes, somebody not familiar with the area might see potential in a site that locals might never even have dreamed of.

ofcork

Just saw on facebook lidl are going building a store in bantry.

sonnyblack

ofcork wrote: »

Just saw on facebook lidl are going building a store in bantry.

Yes, An Bord Pleanala has granted permission for the Newtown former Tesco site. I understand that these stores are built quite quickly so it should be open before next Christmas hopefully. Great news for the town and a much needed retail boost.

The Biggs/O'Keeffe planning decision is due on 30/01/17. Hopefully this will also be granted and a modern store built.

The combination of these 2 stores and the Phase 1 inner harbour completion in the Autumn will definitely attract more retail into the town IMHO

sonnyblack

bigbrotherfan wrote: »

You might say there are no sites in the town but I've seen Aldi building on the site of a garage, where I would have thought there was no chance at all of building and I did dismiss it when I first heard it. I must admit now that I was wrong.

Sometimes, somebody not familiar with the area might see potential in a site that locals might never even have dreamed of.

Hopefully you'll be proved right with an Aldi Store now that Lidl has been granted permission.

bigbrotherfan

In a town the size of Bantry, I'm not sure there's need for both a Lidl and an Aldi. Although when compared with Clon, where there are so many different stores including Dunnes and a big Supervalu, as well as several other large supermarkets, there just might be justification.

sonnyblack

You're not just talking about the town. You're talking about the surrounding areas as well. Glengarriff, Adrigole maybe Castletown, mizen, Durris, ahkista, goleen. A big hinterland. The town is a natural focal point as long as it has the retail to draw people in. Lidl is a great start. Hopefully new Supervalu decision by end of month. Who knows from there

bigbrotherfan

sonnyblack wrote: »

You're not just talking about the town. You're talking about the surrounding areas as well. Glengarriff, Adrigole maybe Castletown, mizen, Durris, ahkista, goleen. A big hinterland. The town is a natural focal point as long as it has the retail to draw people in. Lidl is a great start. Hopefully new Supervalu decision by end of month. Who knows from there

You're right. When there's a greater choice available, the town will draw more customers and compete with the likes of Skibb and Clon.

sonnyblack

Supervalu have been granted planning in townlots. €8M investment. 20 new jobs. Supposed to start asap. Great news for town.