Retail Planning Guidelines

The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has initiated a Public Consultation on revised draft Retail Planning Guidelines. When finalised, the revised Guidelines will replace those issued in 2005. The proposed revised guidelines take into account the recommendations of a Forfás study review of the economic impact of the retail cap (April 2011). This study was undertaken as part of the terms of the EU/IMF programme for financial support.

Amongst the key changes being proposed in the draft guidelines are:

• Changing the convenience retail floorspace cap to a three tier approach providing for a differentiation in cap limits between Dublin (4000 m sq), the other four main cities – Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford (3500 m sq) and the remainder of the country (3000 mm sq).