Tullamore Town Council wants to approve all tenants for Hophill centre

The group behind the multi-million euro town centre development at Hophill is appealing one planning condition set by Tullamore Town Council which requires that all the potential tenants for the 34 retail/commercial units must first be approved by the council. Tullamore Town Council granted permission in November to Rumbold Builders for the mixed-use development at the Coen"s timber yard and Nissan garage sites, subject to 22 conditions. However condition number five, which is broken into five parts, demands that 'prior to occupation of the 34 retail/commercial units, the developer must submit a full schedule of proposed occupants of each unit... for written agreement of the planning authority'. The initial use of each retail/commercial unit will also have to be agreed in writing by Tullamore Town Council and the initial use can then only be changed if the council gives permission. The Rumbold Builders appeal to An Bord Pleanala relates mainly to these requirements. The group describe the condition as 'unnecessary, irrelevant to planning and unreasonable and may give rise to uncertainty, delays and significant and undue difficulties in terms of the applicant"s negotiations with potential tenants'. Rumbold said that securing tenants for each of the 34 units would probably see them entering negotiations with up to 100 potential tenants before any leases are signed. 'Particularly in the current economic climate, retail tenants may not commit to a development without all the consents being in place and there being no other impediment to their occupation of the unit(s)... This condition will be correctly viewed by potential tenants as such an impediment to their occupation and as a result may refuse to commit,' said the appeal. Rumbold also pointed out that Tullamore Town Council gave no indication of the time frame in which it would give this written approval. 'This scenario whereby negotiations on tenancy are dependant on receiving the written approval of the planning authority, when there is no guarantee if or when this will be received, is untenable for the development and tenants alike and may negatively affect the commercial viability of the scheme.' Rumbold also object to the request that the initial use and subsequent change of use of each unit has to be approved by the council. It said that the use of 'shop' as defined in Class 1, Part 4 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001-2008 is 'more than adequate' from a planning perspective. Tullamore Town Council has until January 9, 2009 to make a submission or observation to An Bord Pleanala. A second appeal was submitted to An Bord Pleanala by John O"Grady c/o Church Avenue Residents. He objected to the expected increase in traffic congestion and traffic diversions into Church View and Church Avenue due to the proposed new link road connecting Church Avenue to the proposed development.