Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 76: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the basis for the changes in the retail planning guidelines announced by his Department on 5 January 2005; the names of those retail concerns that made representations to his Department to have the guidelines changed; if his attention has been drawn to the serious concerns expressed about the possible impact of the change on existing retailers; if applications for developments under the new guidelines have yet been received; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11059/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The recently amended retail planning guidelines, which have effect from 1 February 2005, provide that the floorspace cap on retail warehouses will no longer apply within the functional areas of the four Dublin local authorities and in the other national spatial strategy gateways. The gateway towns and cities are Athlone-Tullamore-Mullingar, Cork, Dublin, Dundalk, Galway, Letterkenny, Limerick-Shannon, Sligo and Waterford. This modification to the guidelines will only apply in areas subject to integrated area plans under the Urban Renewal Act 1998.

The amendment to the retail planning guidelines follows a review of the floorspace cap on retail warehouses set in the retail planning guidelines, which were made in 2001. Those guidelines had prescribed a maximum floor area of 6,000 square metres gross retail floorspace for large-scale single retail warehouse development. This cap has been reviewed, taking account of the need to promote effective competition in this sector of retailing and of ongoing developments in retail formats, while continuing to respect proper planning and sustainable development.

To assist in carrying out the review of the floorspace cap, interested parties were invited to make submissions to my Department. Some 71 submissions were received and assessed. Of the 71 submissions received by my Department, 48 submissions were in favour of retaining the existing cap, 19 were in favour of the cap being increased or abolished and four submissions did not come down clearly on either side. Retail concerns, or agents acting on their behalf, who suggested changes in the guidelines in their submissions were IKEA, Tesco Ireland, Costco UK Limited and B&Q.

Following the closing date for the receipt of submissions relating to the review my Department arranged for the preparation of reports summarising the main points raised in the submissions on the review and analysing those submissions, with particular reference to the arguments for and against lifting the overall restriction on the size of retail warehouses nationally, as specified in the guidelines, in the context of the issues of traffic impact, the impact on city and town centres and the implications of any change for the national spatial strategy.

Options considered in finalising the review included: making no change in the existing guidelines; abolishing the overall size cap on retail warehouses nationally; increasing the size cap; making a specific amendment to the guidelines to allow for large-scale unique format stores; and providing for the non-application of the size cap in certain specified areas.

Taking account of the submissions made in the course of the review and various analyses carried out by my Department I decided, with the approval of the Government, that the revised retail planning guidelines would provide that the existing floor space of 6,000 square metres gross on single warehouse development would no longer apply in those areas, which are the subject of integrated area plans under the Urban Renewal Act 1998, within the functional areas of the four Dublin local authorities and in the other national spatial strategy gateways. The revised guidelines also specifically provide that to be acceptable from a planning point of view, individual retail warehouses in excess of 6,000 square metres must be located close to a road network with sufficient capacity to cater for development of the scale proposed, that any proposal for such a retail warehouse must be accompanied by a traffic impact assessment and that any potential impact on the vitality and viability of town centres will be an important consideration to be taken into account by planning authorities in determining applications for such development.

While I am aware that some existing retailers and their representatives have raised concerns about the impact on them of the changes to the guidelines, I am satisfied that the basis on which the changes have been made will minimise any adverse impacts and will have many positive benefits for the overall retail sector in Ireland and its customers.