Athlone remains in Lidl's plans for further development

Its plans to build new supermarkets in two areas of Athlone were turned down by An Bord Pleanála in recent years, but Lidl Ireland indicated this week that it is still actively looking at possible new store openings in the town.

The grocery chain had hoped to develop a second Athlone store at the site of O'Meara's garage in Baylough, but the project was refused permission by An Bord Pleanála in April 2021, having previously been given the green light by council planners.

An Bord Pleanála decided not to allow the Baylough store to proceed due to its scale and its location outside of the core retail area of the town.

A second Athlone development, valued at €10 million, was proposed by the company on the Dublin Road in 2021.

This would have seen Lidl's existing Athlone store replaced by a "state-of-the-art" outlet that would have been located across from the current premises, on the site of the Colm Quinn Motorstore in Athlone Business Park.

This application was turned down by Westmeath County Council, and was then appealed by Lidl Ireland to An Bord Pleanála.

In February 2022, the board upheld the council's planning refusal, again citing the "scale and extent" of the development, on a site that was "removed from the town centre" of Athlone.

One year on from this decision by An Bord Pleanála, the Westmeath Independent contacted Lidl Ireland to ask about the status of any future development plans it might have in Athlone.

A spokesperson for the company issued a brief response, stating that: "Lidl Ireland remain committed to improving our offering in Athlone".

No information was given about what the improved offering might consist of, but the spokesperson said the company "will share further details when we have them".