Plans lodged for outlet centre with pledge of 200 retail jobs

A PLANNING application for a major outlet centre which is set to create up to 200 jobs will be lodged with the authorities in Waterford in the next eight weeks.

Promoters of the factory outlet centre earmarked for a site on Cork Road in Waterford city said yesterday that the project will include about 200 jobs in retail and supervisory positions when complete, while 300 people will be employed during the construction phase.

The outlet centre will feature 34 retail units on a former pitch-and-putt course on the outskirts of Waterford, with 8,345sq m of floor space.

According to Junction One Investments, the project will be similar to the Kildare Village retail outlet and will draw visitors to Waterford from a wide area.

The company is due to submit a planning application for the scheme with Waterford City Council by the end of October, for the land which is owned by Parker Green International.

According to Parker Green group managing director Dr Gerard O’Hare, the company is fully committed to delivering “a first class project” and has received strong interest from retailers who may want to establish a factory outlet in the south-east to sell surplus or end-of-season stock at reduced prices.

“The planning process obviously takes time but the groundwork done for the outline planning application received and validated by Waterford City Council in mid-July offers us a good foundation for the full application that detailed work is now under way on.”

The company continues to engage with the planners in Waterford and “all other relevant stakeholders” with a view to achieving “a positive outcome” as soon as possible.

Dr O’Hare said construction work will also begin shortly on an eight-screen cinema on the Cork Road.

Generating more than 80 jobs during the construction phase, the project by Waterford-based contractors David Flynn Ltd, for Parker Green International, will eventually be run by Omniplex who already operate 25 cinemas across Ireland.