Green light for new Kildare Lidl and café

PERMISSION for the €4.5m demolition and rebuild of the Lidl store in Sallins took just four and a half months from application to decision.

The German retailer has decided to increase the footprint of the entire building in Millbrook by 35 per cent (to 2,356sqm), but only increase its retail floor by 16 per cent (to 1,497sqm), despite doubling the car parking from 60 to 120.

They will also add a 150sqm café adjacent to the link road that leads out to the bypass.

It was almost plain sailing through planning for the retailing giant, with none of the statutory bodies – Roads, Fire, Housing, Environment – lodging any objections to the plan, however, the strategic project and public realm team had some minor difficulties with the layout.

“We have some concerns that the proposed increase in footprint my negatively impact the future permeability of the site,” they offered, along with a few gripes about the architectural design of the café, and the positioning of signage and flagpoles.

However, the council planner noted: “The response to (concerns within) further information requests adequately addresses issues raised about the site.”

Lidl have been in Ireland for 25 years, and have 180 stores in the country to date.