A planning application in respect of the currently operating Mr Price retail store on the Limerick road in Tipperary town has been refused by Tipperary County Council. The council investigated the activities at the site when a pop up shop traded in the building in December 2022. Mr Price had commenced trading in 2021 without planning permission according to the Council.
Corajio Unlimited Company, trading as Mr Price, purchased the building in 2015 which had been vacant since it was constructed in 2007. In 2017 the owner was granted a change of use to “office space” from retail/warehouse.
In March of this year the company submitted a second application for retention permission to use two units of the building at Bohercrowe as retail outlets. The refusal is the latest in a long running saga for the location. Tipperary county council refused an application for retention permission last year and that decision was upheld by An Bord Pleanála as the location is zoned for “light industrial” land use and under the 2013 Tipperary Town Economic Development Plan the land zoning objective is “to provide for light industry and employment and related uses.” Under the land use zoning rules, a shop and supermarket are explicitly not permitted in this land use zone. The planning documents show that the store employs 22 staff.
The most recent application for retention permission was accompanied by a Retail Impact Assessment report which says the “company found great difficulty in identifying an alternative suitable, available and viable premises in the Tipperary town” centre. The report also considers the location to have no applicable zoning “as the Tipperary Town & Environs Development Plan 2013 has expired.” No other submissions were made on the application which is under reference number 2560212 on the Tipperary County Council Planning portal. Corajio has been contacted for a response.
