A planning decision on a new Lidl supermarket complex beside Windsor Park is being delayed amid objections raised by the Irish Football Association.
Elected representatives at Belfast City Council ’s recent Planning Committee agreed to defer an application by Lidl Northern Ireland for the erection of a discount supermarket, drive through cafe, landscaping, car parking, and associated site works on vacant lands at the access road to Olympia Leisure Centre directly opposite 9-15 Boucher Road, Belfast. They agreed to carry out a site visit ahead of any decision.
Council officers are recommending that planning permission is granted subject to conditions. The council received 32 representations on the application, including 30 letters of support and two objections.
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The application site is located along the east side of Boucher Road, in an area predominantly characterised by commercial and retail business. Windsor Park football stadium, Olympia Leisure Centre and associated playing fields are located to the immediate east, while a residential development is located to the north-east of the site.
The application is supported by Blackstaff Residents Association. The council report stated there was a request from residents “to process the application urgently, so that local people can avail of what would be an essential shopping facility to help them through the cost of living crisis”.
The report said the association believes the community doesn’t “have enough up-to-date shops for grocery shopping” and felt the Lidl would be a “great asset for the community”. The report adds the residents believe it would bring “much needed jobs in the area” and could “be accessed without having to cross at a busy junction such as Broadway Roundabout or crossing steep steps or bridges such as at Tates Avenue or Windsor Park”.
The two objections received are from Midgley Park and the IFA, who said the development will “create a conflict of uses on major event days”. The report states there were “concerns that the proposal will result in a conflict between patrons attending major events at the national football stadium and customers accessing the proposed development”. It added the IFA said “the resulting effect will expose the patrons accessing the stadium to unacceptable risks to their personal safety”.
The report adds: “(There were) concerns that the proposed development will create a conflict during major events at the NFS, thereby limiting the ability of PSNI and IFA to properly implement the necessary crowd management measures, risking the safety of pedestrians and obstructing emergency access to the NFS.
“IFA considers that the requirements for the safety certificate could not be met where there is a conflict between vehicles and pedestrians using the Boucher Road access and the Boulevard, placing in jeopardy the ability to use this as an access point to the site.”
The report states the IFA argues that if Windsor Park is unable to host major events, “this would not only jeopardise the ability of the IFA to meet the terms of the Department for Communities funding, but would also undermine the rationale for the stadium, which was to create a venue capable of showcasing Northern Ireland football on an international stage”.
NI Water has objected to the application on grounds of insufficient waste-water drainage infrastructure capacity and foul sewage network capacity issues. The Northern Ireland Environment Agency has recommended a condition seeking agreement of sewage disposal arrangements prior to commencement. No other statutory consultees objected.
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