Major progress being made on new supermarket in the centre of Tullamore

Major progress is being made on a new supermarket in the centre of Tullamore.

Half of the long derelict site which used to house Texas and Tesco in the heart of the town has been cleared and work is well underway on the construction of the new supermarket. The frame of the new building is almost in place.

The old Texas building was demolished to make room for what will be a new Aldi supermarket on the site. 

The other half of the site remains in a derelict condition. Cayenne Holdings was refused permission to for a mixed commercial and residential scheme on the part of the site that still has the derelict Tesco supermarket.

When they turned down permission for the project, Offaly County Council planners referred in particular to a 12-storey/13-floor building which would have dominated the site.

In an appeal lodged with An Bord Pleanala, Cayenne Holdings defends its plan for a 13-floor tower but also floats an alternative.

There are four new buildings in the Distillery Yard plan and the developer is suggesting that building three be reduced from 13 floors to 11.

The developer says this building, by far the tallest proposed, would effectively be 10 storeys because the ground floor has a mezzanine level.