A NEW Tesco store has been approved for part of the Makro site at Dunmurry.
The plans were approved by elected representatives on Belfast City Council’s Planning Committee.
The new store is set to replace the current Tesco store in Kingsway which has already announced its closure.
The work at the Makro will include the erection of a new loading bay in the service yard, minor external alterations to the building and the reconfiguration of the car park. There were no objections from statutory consultees or third parties, except from NI Water.
The council received one-third party letter of support. On the applicant’s own consultation, 155 responses were received through the website, with 140 supporting the proposals and 15 against.
The council planning report states: “The assessment calculates a catchment area population of 143,181 in 2025, rising to 144,272 in 2029. In terms of available spending it concludes the available convenience expenditure per capita in 2025 is £2393, reducing to £2366 by 2029.
"Taking into account the turnover of convenience retail stores within the catchment, the analysis concludes there is a surplus expenditure of £57.32m.
"The applicant has demonstrated that there is no sequentially preferable site in or on the edge of centres and that the proposal will not have a significant, adverse impact on existing centres. The principle of the proposal is acceptable and complies with policy.
"The application maintains the existing access and will provide a new pedestrian crossing point along Kingsway. Alterations are proposed to the existing car park to indicate the two operators of the site and there will be new disabled and parent and child car parking.
"The parking plan is to provide 175 spaces for Tesco, with the Makro store retaining 130 spaces – that is 305 in total. The proposal also includes a number of EV charging spaces within the car park."
