Supermarket giant Lidl wants to open a second store in this Kildare town

Lidl, which has over 180 shops in Ireland as well as three distribution centres, wants to open another store in Naas.

A company representative said it is “committed to realising a second store location to serve the vibrant community of Naas.”

Lidl already has a store on Newbridge Road but plans for a second outlet at the junction of Dublin Road and Maudlins Avenue were rejected by Kildare County Council in September 2018.

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The company then appealed this An Bord Pleanála - but this appeal was withdrawn.

Lidl’s representative told the Leinster Leader that it is currently reviewing this development project “as part of our overarching expansion plan in Ireland and we hope to share an update in due course.”

This is likely to  mean that a new planning application will be submitted to the council because planning permissions generally have a lifespan of five years..

KCC refused the application because it went against part of the then County Kildare Development Plan (CDP) which seeks to sustain and strengthen town centres.

It was also pointed at the out that proposals for the regeneration of the Naas Shopping Centre, the ex-Superquinn site, the NaasShopping Mall and the former Penneys site at Blessington Road had not materialised - though Dunnes stores is now  in situ and the former Penneys premises is occupied by Born Clothing. 

KCC also said that the application was premature pending the selection of the route for the inner relief road and the development could endanger public safety by creating a traffic hazard.

However the inner relief road - which links Dublin Road with Blessington Road (via a route adjacent to Naas Racecourse) is part of the CDP. There were objections to that proposal  which will take significant volumes of traffic out of the town.

They came from residents living in estates in the vicinity of the racecourse and where the road would pass -  but the proposed road is now part of the county development plan.

A raft of residents living in the area expressed reservations about the proposal, including people living in The Maudlings, a residential area adjacent to the planned development.

One criticised any removal of trees in the area because these form part of the overall environment of the area “providing a positive environment for the neighbourhood” as well as a screening for the industrial units to the rear as well as tackling pollution arising from vehicles in the area.