Council urged to halt further retail developments in Shannon town centre

Consultants for a Co Kildare-based company behind the €60 million redeveloped Shannon town centre have warned that any additional zoning of land in Shannon for retail will undermine the viability of the town centre.

In 2004, STC Developments opened the 60-unit Skycourt shopping centre in Shannon to cater for people living in Shannon and working in the Shannon Free Zone.

The most recent accounts lodged by STC Developments to the Companies Registration Office show that it wrote down the value of its stock from €2.8m to €1.2m in 2010.

A note attached to the firm’s 2010 accounts states that the revaluation of the stock included consideration of factors such as rental capacity, rental yield, location and related demand on a “to let” basis.

As a result, the company’s accumulated profits reduced from €2.6m to €769,266 in the 12 months to the end of December 2010.

Now, in a submission to Clare Co Council on the local authority’s plan to rezone additional lands for retail in Shannon, consultants for STC Developments state that 27% of the 20,000sq metres in retail space is vacant.

The submission by Simon Clear & Associates states that the council’s draft plan provisions on retail “are unsustainable and will seriously undermine the established retail and commercial town centre of Shannon”.

The submission points out that the operators of Shannon town centre “have sought to attract comparison retailers for the past 10 years with little success”.

Mr Clear claims that attempts to facilitate a massive expansion in zoned area will serve only to further undermine the existing town centre and its viability.

STC Developments has asked the local authority not to permit any new retail development outside of the town centre until the existing centre has been fully developed.

The consultants point out that there is already two existing permissions for retail development — not yet developed — for a floorspace of 15,000sq metres at the town centre.

However, in its response, Clare Co Council has refused STC Development’s request to amend any of its zoning for retail in Shannon.

The draft plan is set to before members of Clare Co Council next week.