500 jobs to be created at Tyrone shopping village

Five hundred new jobs are to be created in a £10m expansion to a Northern Ireland leisure shopping village, it was announced today.

The massive investment in the Linen Green complex at Moygashel, Co Tyrone has been earmarked in a bid to create Ireland’s premier factory outlet for top fashion brands.

Ken Maginnis, the new Ulster Unionist peer who has driven forward the project, hailed the second stage in the plans as a huge economic boost.

He said: "The Linen Green has already breathed new life into an area that has suffered a period of decline following the downturn in the UK textiles industry.

"It is a tribute to the resolute determination of the local community supported by its unique work ethic that this project has come to fruition.

"I am confident that with the educational base here and the excellent potential the location offers, the Linen Green will far exceed our original expectations."

The investment is a joint venture between a private developer and the Moygashel Community Development Association chaired by Lord Maginnis.

Linen Green first opened last October at a cost of £4m, creating more than 100 jobs in an out-of-town retail village boasting designer fashions by names such as Paul Costelloe, Anne Storey and Ramsay Warehousing at competitive prices.

A restaurant, bakery, craft shops, retail and office units and a visitors centre devoted to linen have are also featured.

Another 75,000sq ft of factory outlet space, a children’s play area, 600-space car park and a combined art gallery and tourist information centre will be added with the new investment.

Keith Shiells, chief executive of letting agents Lambert Smith Hampton said: "The retail area will be tastefully laid out in a village streetscape, complementing the existing shop offer."