Businesses up in arms over plans for Ennis retail park

BUSINESSES IN Ennis, Co Clare, are fighting plans by a developer to construct a €34 million retail park on the fringes of the town.

Ennis Town Council is due to make a decision tomorrow on contentious plans by Michael Lynch Ltd for the retail park on the southern fringes of the town.

The company says the plan will create 300 construction jobs and between 180 and 200 permanent jobs when operational.

In a submission to the council, the representative body for independent retailers, RGDATA, says that the town has more than 70 vacant retail units, a figure disputed by the developer, Michael Lynch.

“The key focus should be on the regeneration of the town centre and encouraging new retail developments and formats into the vacant town centre sites instead of permitting a very large counter-attraction to be developed removed from the town core,” it said.

“RGDATA contends that due to the magnitude of the comparison floorspace, small businesses in Ennis town will suffer loss of trade and footfall.

“The proposed large store will draw the business from the existing retail outlets operating in the retail core,” said the submission.

Ennis Chamber of Commerce, also in a submission to the town council, said the retail park proposal was likely to cause “significant damage to the economic health and wellbeing of the town of Ennis”.

Consultant for the chamber Michael Leahy said: “The proposal to provide a major out-of-town retail centre at a time when vacancy rates are at levels which have not been witnessed before in modern times seems to fly in the face of common sense.

“The provision of an out-of-town development equivalent almost to a further one-third of the retail area within the town centre at a time of serious retail difficulty would have the potential to be ruinous to that town centre.”

Mr Leahy said that given what had happened in the economy, “it would be astonishing if in the teeth of the greatest retail collapse in living memory, the planning authority should grant permission for a major retail development in an out-of-centre location”.

Developer Michael Lynch, defending his plan for the retail centre, said: “The objective of our proposed development is to help stem the haemorrhage of retail expenditure to Limerick and other centres and to help sustain local jobs in Ennis.”