IKEA gets go-ahead for country's first store
Swedish furniture giant IKEA was today given the go-ahead to open a massive outlet in Ballymun, north Dublin.
Fingal County Council granted planning permission for the country’s first store under a raft of conditions adding €5.5m to the cost of the project.
And the decision is subject to appeal through An Bord Pleanala.
A council spokeswoman said 32 conditions had been placed on the development, more than half of which concern transport and traffic management plans.
IKEA will employ 500 workers at the Dublin store and another 100 jobs will be created in outsourced services.
Theresa Daly, IKEA’s project manager, said it was a very important step in bringing the popular retailer to Ireland.
“Since we announced our intention to seek planning permission for Ballymun, we have been extremely encouraged by the response from Irish consumers and there is very high awareness of and support for our plans to enter the Irish market,” she said.
The store, set on a 12.7 hectare site in the Ballymun Regeneration Zone, will carry almost 10,000 products with a unique layout allowing customers to view over 50 fully furnished room and home layouts.
In a 20 page document compiled by planners in Fingal County Council a raft of conditions were outlined to the company over fears the opening of the store would compound the massive traffic chaos on the adjacent M50.
Among them are the upgrade of the Ballymun junction of the congested motorway or alternative measures such as provision of sliproads to ensure the freeflow of traffic.
Others include improvements to nearby roads, cycle lanes, parking and a shuttle bus from the store to Ballymun town.
The huge demands placed on the development by the council will drive up the cost of the project by €5.5m.
But a spokeswoman for IKEA declined to be drawn on what the total cost of the scheme is adding saying that it was not company policy.
Depending on appeals to An Bord Pleanala the Ballymun outlet could be ready to open by next summer. And the company also has plans for a store in Belfast.
IKEA also revealed the Dublin store would have an eco-friendly ethos.
Energy efficiency levels will be well ahead of anything being built in Ireland using renewable energy in the form of geothermal power, sourced from under the ground.
IKEA will generate at least 44% of its total energy needs from renewable sources.
The system will result in a 65% annual reduction in carbon emissions equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 300 average family homes.
IKEA is to invest €1.75m in the installation of a geothermal unit which will be the most significant investment in ground source technology in the Irish market.
