BALLINASLOE Town Councillors last week took the momentous decision to approve a re-zoning submission – despite a warning that they were effectively moving the town centre to a new location, and thus damaging economic activity in the town’s main streets.

The move will almost certainly open the gates for further massive concentration of retail development to take place on lands where the new Tesco andAldi stores are located.

Approval of a submission from Brackernagh Property Developments Ltd for a new commercial and mixed use zoning of the lands at Dunlo, instead of the already approved “bulky goods” retail warehousing designation, came with a very stark health warning from Town Manager Kevin Kelly who described it not just as the most significant decision of their review of the Town Development Plan, but possibly the most significant decision “in the life time of this town”.

“If you look at the names of the shops (suggested as possibilities for the site by the developer in a letter to Councillors) and it is successful, the outcome will be the movement of the town centre to a new location,” he told Council members at a special five hour meeting held last week to further consider 52 submissions which had been made as part of the public process involved in drafting the new Town Development Plan.

Councillors are worried about...