Bord approves 30 warehouses for Lakepoint

An application for a massive extension of Lakepoint Retail Park in Mullingar has been given the go-ahead by An Bord Pleanála - reversing the decision of Westmeath County Council to refuse permission for the development.Arcadia Properties is now free to build thirty warehouse units and two office units at the Park, which is home to Mullingar"s cinema, the national call centre for FBD Insurance Company, and a number of large outlets, including Atlantic Homecare, Harvey Norman, and Byrne"s World of Wonder.The Council refused the Arcadia warehouse application on February 6 of this year on the grounds of visual impact, overdevelopment of the site, and because the development would constitute a 'piecemeal' approach to the development of the lands.The development which Arcadia Properties Mullingar Ltd., c/o Keith Simpson and Associates of Unit 5C and 5D, Fingal Bay Business Park, Balbriggan, County Dublin, is for 25 two storey units of 7.5 metres in height, five single storey units which are to measure 4.8 metres in height; and two three-storey office units.The warehouses were to come in six different types.To service the development, the firm intends providing 94 carparking spaces, a recycling point and an ESB substation.The an Bord Pleanála inspector who investigated the site noted that for the appeal, the applicants revised their scheme, reducing the overall gross floor area from 4,382 square metres to 4,011.5 square metres, and to reduce the number of carparking spaces to 88.He stated that the County Council planner"s report expressed concern in relation to the landscaping proposals, and that the proposal would not integrate with adjoining lands, and that the planner had also expressed concern in relation to the site"s prominent location in the context of the N4.The planner himself said that he did not agree that the development would represent, as the Council stated, an 'inappropriate urban form of development which would appear visually obtrusive when viewed from the adjoining N4 National Primary Route'.' In general I would consider the overall design and layout of the scheme to be acceptable, as it mirrors and reflects the existing design approach which was employed for the adjoining office and retail development,' he stated, adding he did not consider that the buildings would be visually obtrusive.