Permission sought for Tesco store in Cork satellite town

SOME 200 new retail jobs are poised for Cork’s Ballincollig, as supermarket giant Tesco joins a heady and competitive mix in the town that already has two Aldis, two SuperValus, a Lidl — and a large Dunnes Stores.

Planning permission is being sought this week from Cork County Council for a 70,000sq ft anchor Tesco, just west of the 2005-built Ballincollig Town Centre, part of an ongoing €500 million investment.

Another good news job announcement is expected within weeks, from an existing and expanding software/office-based entity.

The proposed site for a new Tesco store (to be owned by Tesco) is owned by O’Flynn Construction, which has been behind the radical renewal of the satellite town a few kilometres west of Cork city since it bought the 90-acre former Murphy Barracks. A second phase of retail development was always expected for the old barracks site.

However, the news that it is to proceed in the teeth of a economic downturn, and with Tesco keen to proceed in a super-competitive market catering for a 65,000-strong catchment, will come as some surprise.

A planning notice for an anchor retail store with convenience (supermarket) and comparison space(department store) was published yesterday by O’Flynn’s Ballincollig Town Centre, and while it declined to identify Tesco as the anchor, that company’s identity has recently been flagged to local traders.

Tesco is already represented in the greater Cork area in Wilton, Douglas and Mahon Point, as well as in farther-flung county towns.

Its presence in Ballincollig will add to shoppers’ choice and will be a physically close rival to Dunnes, which is the main Ballincollig Town Centre anchor, with two stores within the main complex. Dunnes is also represented nearby at Bishopstown (two stores) and in Macroom.

A brief comment from O’Flynn Construction last night described the latest planning application as “the start-up of phase 2 of the existing Ballincollig Shopping Centre expansion”.

“At present, the bus green route is nearing completion and already a new road and lighting layout is finalised. This is very positive from an employment perspective with the creation of a large number of jobs during the construction stage, and there will be in excess of 200 permanent jobs when the store is fully operational,” it said.

Meanwhile, in West Cork’s Clonakilty, German retailer Lidl is also seeking permission for a store on the Inchydoney Road, replacing an agricultural building, close to where a planned Aldi at the Waterfront scheme is under Board Pleanála appeal.