'I was never going to give up': Kildare Village-style centre in Cork finally set to seek planning

Developer said the outlet centre near Carrigtwohill would create at least 1,200 jobs in high-end retail stores

Artist's impression of the Carrigtwohill 'Kildare Village'-style retail outlet: After years of setbacks and opposition, planning permission will finally be sought for the €100m retail centre.

The developer behind a Kildare Village-style retail centre for East Cork has said he was "never going to give up" on the project as he confirmed it was now back on track. 

After years of setbacks and opposition, planning permission will finally be sought for the €100m retail centre outside Carrigtwohill by the end of this year.

The move was confirmed by Giles Membery, managing director of the international retail development company, Rioja Estates, who said the outlet centre would create at least 1,200 jobs in high-end retail stores.

Mr Membery said his company was now working on an environmental impact assessment to ensure the 25-hectare retail site would not affect local wildlife, especially birds in the nearby estuary.

“While it is a 25-hectare site, we will only be able to build on between 10 to 15 hectares because of the [environmental] sensitivity of some of it. We will have to make it the greenest scheme that we can,” he said.

Rioja Estates has built retail developments all over Britain and Europe.

In November 2019, the first reported the company’s plans to build the retail outlet village in Carrigtwohill, but the County Development Plan had to be amended to rezone the greenfield site off the N25 to commercial use to allow the company to lodge a planning application.

The Office of the Planning Regulator then intervened and instructed the local authority not to alter the development plan, a move that could have spelled the end of the project.

Court action

The local authority was forced to take an action in the High Court where it successfully got the OPR direction overturned.

Mr Membery said he was not the type of person to give up on a project.

“I was never going to give up on this,” he said. 

“We had a project in Geneva which took us 17 years to get planning permission for. My motto is you persevere.” 

Mr Membery said he was confident all the concerns of senior council planners would be addressed when the company lodges its planning application.

He also said Rioja Estates was engaging regularly with high-fashion companies about locating in Cork and insisted the interest from top retailers was very good.

However, nothing can be finalised with fashion brands and other retailers until the company secures planning permission and gets specific details on projected opening dates, and building sizes. 

Mr Membery said the recent announcement of increased train frequencies for the Carrigtwohill station had provided the project with a further boost.

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In the first phase of development, companies locating to the outlet centre are likely to require about 800 employees, he said, and the second phase would likely require a further 400-plus workers.

Mr Membery said while there was a good road network in the area, enhanced public transport for workers and visitors would be a key factor for the centre’s success.