Anger as Ballina excluded from €80m Tesco investment

Ballina residents are outraged at the lack of progress in the redevelopment of the town’s Tesco supermarket.

Cllr Mark Duffy told the Western People that Tesco’s announcement of a major investment in their Swinford store, as published on westernpeople.ie last week, was poorly received by Ballina’s Tesco customers who have been awaiting major redevelopment works at the store since it opened in 1999.

Earlier this year, Tesco Ireland received planning permission for a revamp of its Ballina store as part of an overall scheme with Mayo County Council.

“When they saw the headline, they thought that finally something would be done in Ballina. Nothing has been done with that store in nearly 30 years,” said Cllr Duffy.

“There is a brilliant team and staff in Ballina but when you see Tesco stores across the country, it leaves a lot to be desired.”

The Tesco store in Swinford, which was first opened in 2010, will undergo refurbishment and refit as part of a major €80 million property investment announced by the retailer last week, which includes eight new store openings. Ballina, however, remains in limbo.

Plans submitted in 2005 to create a state-of-the-art Tesco supermarket adjacent to the grounds of Ballina Stephenites on Lord Edward Street were withdrawn in 2008.

Plans approved by the council in 2014 for a major store redevelopment, and the development of an underground car park for up to 280 cars, did not materialise.

“The Council facilitated this through a CPO and this shouldn’t have been done,” said Cllr Duffy. “It evicted residents and businesses to facilitate Tesco who totally gave the local authority the runaround for the last number of years.

“I handed in a petition in 2019 with over 800 signatures demanding something be done with that existing planning.”

Last week, Cllr Duffy received correspondence from Tesco Ireland that said they are conscious that plans for the store have been long in the offing and they have ringfenced financing for the store upgrade works.

With planning secure, they are now liaising with Mayo County Council to start the work at the earliest opportunity.

However, Cllr Duffy said he was going to insist on finer details being made available regarding the redevelopment work.

“Their correspondence is a bit light on detail,” he said. “I am going to try and demand a commitment and a start date from them. We all want work to commence as soon as possible.

“The Military Barracks development on the other side of Market Square is nearing completion and an enhanced supermarket would really complement that.”

The Western People received no response to a request for comment from Tesco Ireland.