Proposals to prevent the opening of new charity shops on a popular high street in Dublin, in order to protect the "standards" of the area, are out for public consultation this week.

It follows a similar move in the UK; the Welsh government plans to consult on reducing rate relief for charity shops, capping their numbers and restricting the premises they can occupy.

Grafton Street is one of Dublin’s most famous shopping streets. Under proposals in the draft 2013 Scheme of Special Planning Control for Grafton Street and Environs, it has been suggested that planning restrictions are imposed on a raft of business types, including internet cafes, sex shops and charity shops.

Bryan Ward, a planner at the council, told the Sunday Times in Ireland that standards had declined on the high street, with a proliferation of low-end retail users: “One of the ways to control this is not to grant [planning permission],” he said. “And in the draft scheme we’ve added to an existing list to include charity shops, seasonal shops and video-gaming stores.”

Oxfam Ireland has a charity shop just a few metres from Grafton Street. Jim Clarken, Oxfam Ireland’s chief executive, said: “We are disappointed that these proposals haven’t taken into consideration the evolution of charity shops like Oxfam’s into fashion destinations in their own right. Our shops offer consumers a great value alternative that is eco-friendly and has the feel-good factor. They are a vital source of income for our work around the world such as our current Syria crisis appeal where we’re trying to help 120,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon.

“We welcome any proposals that encourage retailers to take on empty units and feel that charity shops should be allowed the opportunity to trade in the Grafton Street area if it’s economically viable for them to do so. We are fortunate to have been bequeathed our South King Street premises and believe that our shop contributes to rather than detracts from the area’s attractiveness to shoppers."

The document proposals will go out for an eight-week public consultation and will be put before Dublin City Council this summer.