A £42 million "retail village" could revitalise shopping in the midlands, according to its backers.
The village, encompassing 100,000 square feet including some 40 retail units specialising in brand names at discount prices, is being developed at Rathdowney, Co Laois. It will also include restaurants, play areas and parking for more than 600 cars.
When completed it will provide employment for up to 350 people, according to its developers, the UK-based Morrison Outlets. According to the company, a number of the units have already been let. The company said the midlands location will attract shoppers from across the State and estimated more than two million people would live in its catchment area.
The development is not limited by the retail planning guidelines which cap the size of out-of-town shopping centres at just under 40,000 square feet.
According to a spokesman for the Department of the Environment, the guidelines are directed at grocery stores, "as opposed to the kind of furniture stores which are visited only occasionally . . . there would not be the same strain on the infrastructure and consequently there are different limits on size".
The managing director of Morrison Outlets, Mr Dominic Browne, cited ease of access, the proximity of the N7 and N8 routes and that the site is just 70 miles from Dublin as the primary reasons for locating in Rathdowney.
"The location was very important to us," said Mr Browne. "There are over two million people living within the catchment of our new outlet."
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