Galway County Council has granted more time for the construction of a supermarket in Athenry on the site of a former Co-Op.
Swandive Unlimited Company was first granted planning permission for the construction of a discount foodstore supermarket in Athenry, with and off-licence, in October 2015.
The development will involve demolishing multiple existing retail buildings, including warehousing, agricultural sheds, and associated structures.
In their place will be built a single storey discount foodstore with a retail floor area of 1,379sqm, a new access road, and a car park with 92 parking spaces.
The reason why no work has been progressed before now, according to the EOD application, is because the site was occupied by Arrabawn Co-Op until April 24, 2019.
The site wasn’t cleared until the end of November 2019, the developer said, which prevented any work from occurring during the lifetime of the original planning permission.
“Lending restrictions of financial institutions in recent years also mitigated against development on site in recent years,” the application states.
It is now expected that work will commence around January 2024, with a view towards completing the supermarket by the end of October 2025.
Galway County Council granted the extension of duration for the works unconditionally.
