Rival 'town centre' schemes for Kilcock

ShoppingCentres: Two 'town centre' schemes are on the cards for Kilcock, writes Jack Fagan

With tenders closing on March 1st on the sale of a site for a shopping centre in Kilcock, Co Kildare, another development company yesterday announced that it is to lodge a planning application within two weeks for a rival shopping complex and residential scheme. The two sites are near the old town centre and back on to the Royal Canal.

Developers Sean and Raymond Reilly of McGarrell Reilly and local businessman Michael Sammon of The Sammmon Group are well advanced on plans for their site which was originally used by Kelly's Bakery. They are gearing up to develop up to 9,290sq m (100,000sq ft) of shopping and office space along with about 150 apartments. There will be parking for more than 300 cars, mainly at basement level. Negotiations are under way with three supermarket chains on the allocation of the anchor store.

In the meantime, Hamilton Osborne King and William Harvey are expecting between 10 and 15 tenders for a 5.5-acre "town centre site" which is expected to make over €20 million when it is sold on March 1st. The land is owned by the owners of the former Leaf chewing gum factory which stands on part of the site.

Peter Levins of agent Bannon Commercial, who is advising McGarrell Reilly and The Sammon Group, yesterday contended that their land is the "primary town centre site" but said they were inviting debate on how the town should be developed.

He said that, with a growing population, Kilcock was in need of convenience shopping facilities as this business was presently going elsewhere.

Simon McGough of Hamilton Osborne King said the owners of the McGarrell Reilly/Sammon site had been in touch and had indicated that they were willing to negotiate with whoever buys the Leaf site. The agency was happy to pass on this information but it was not representing that consortium.

Whether or not the owners of the two sites get together, Kilcock is clearly in need of a new town centre. It is one of the few towns in Kildare with rundown buildings and derelict sites. Hundreds of new homes have been built in the area in recent years and even more are planned over the next few years. New homes are bought mainly by Dublin commuters because of the availability of a rail service and the proximity to the N4 motorway.

The four acres owned by the McGarrell Reilly/Sammon consortium was the site of Kellys Bakers which employed 200 people from its opening in 1840 until it closed in 1950. Ranks later ran a bakery there until it closed in 1992.