Pictured at the site of the tree planting in Ashbourne are Gerard Dunne, Greenbelt, with Daniel Groome, store manager. Photo: Conor Healy

Aldi plants 37,000 trees as Dunshaughlin store to open

19th August date set for opening after lockdown and planning delays

Aldi has announced its Dunshaughlin store is to open on Thursday 19th August, and to mark the occasion, is planting 37,700 trees in Ashbourne.

The Dunshaughlin store staff teamed up with Green Belt and local landowner Joseph Corry to plant the native trees.

There site clearance for the new store on the old green beside Madden's Store on the main street and Lagore Road junction saw a number of centuries old trees which were landmarks in the village, being felled.

The six native trees in the centre of the village were cut down in the space of a couple of hours in January of last years, much to the sadness of locals.

Permission was for demolition of the existing stone building on site and the construction of a single storey discount foodstore (to include off licence use) with a gross floor area of 1,638 square metres, (net retail area 1,152 square metres), and 90 car parking spaces. The proposed development includes vehicular access from Lagore Road and pedestrian access from Main Street.

Planning notices for the development didn't refer to the felling of the trees on the 0.66 hectare site described in an environmental report on the planning file as “a open grassy field with scattered trees”.

“There are some scattered specimens of sycamore and horse chestnut” continued the report.

A derogation licence had to be obtained from the Department of Arts, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht regarding brown-long-eared bats that were roosting in the old shed on the site, formerly a slaughterhouse.

The field which is being developed was known as 'The Lawn', as it was once part of the grounds of Supple Castle, home of an old Dunshaughlin family who date from the 17th century. It was later owned by Murphys, and most recently, by Maddens, of the neighbouring hardware store.

Aldi says it is the first retailer in Ireland to commit to planting one million native Irish woodland trees by 2025 in partnership with Green Belt. The native trees will create a wildlife corridor for native species and enhance biodiversity, while also removing more than 160,000 tonnes of carbon emissions over their 100-year life span.