Retail Warehousing / Bulky Goods
Neighbourhood and Local Centres
7.87 The Retail Planning Guidelines (2012) identifies these types of centres as providing shopping at the most local level, through a mixture of neighbourhood shops in suburban areas, and village stores or post-offices in rural areas. They are included at Level 4 of the Retail Hierarchy and generally comprise a small group of shops, typically a newsagent, small supermarket or general grocery store, sub-post office and other small shops of local nature serving a small, localised catchment population. They are identified in the zoning maps included in Volume 2. Neighbourhood and local centres are generally anchored by a small or medium sized convenience store and tend to include a number of smaller, associated local service units that enhance the overall appeal of the centre in terms of service provision and design. It is essential that they are mixed-use centres incorporating a range of local services. In assessing applications for new centres, the Council will have regard to the proximity of nearby alternative retail facilities and the vitality and viability of these centres, the design quality of the proposed centre and its mix of uses, ensuring that the centre is not overtly dominated by one particular unit or use. This should be demonstrated through the submission of a Retail Impact Assessment (see details below).
7.89 The Retail Planning Guidelines (2012) defines a Retail Warehouse as a large single-level store specialising in the sale of bulky household goods such as carpets, furniture and electrical goods, and bulky DIY items, catering mainly for car- borne customers. Existing provision includes Blackpool Retail Park, Mahon Point Retail Park and Turner’s Cross Retail Park. There are also a number of locations that function as industrial estates and business parks, rather than obvious retail destinations, which host retail warehousing operators such as Kinsale Road Retail Park, Doughcloyne Industrial Estate, the Ballincollig Link Road and Northpoint Business Park. Such developments have generally been delivered in a piecemeal manner, and care must be taken to ensure that similar developments do have negative impacts on the vitality and viability of nearby designated centres.
Small local Shops
7.88 Small local shops such as corner shops selling con- venience goods are generally located in residential areas serving the daily needs of nearby residents and are of a such a small scale that does not merit inclusion in the Retail Hierarchy. It is recognised that these shops can play an important role in urban or village life, however any new proposals should be of a size and scale which would not be detrimental to the health of nearby centres defined within the retail hierarchy and should not have a negative impact on residential amenity. Guidance on petrol filling station shops is included in Chapter 11 Placemaking and Managing Development.
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Cork City Draft Development Plan 2022-2028
Volume 1 I Chapter 7
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