by Alan Jacques
THE DECISION by An Bord Pleanála to grant permission to develop the Horizon Mall on the outskirts of Limerick city has met with mixed reaction locally, with many fearing it will impact negatively on the city centre and plans for its rejuvenation.
However, the Belfast-based developer behind the project, Suneil Sharma, has expressed his delight that permission for the €100 million development at the abandoned site next to the Parkway Retail Park on the Dublin Road has been granted.
“I look forward to working with all stakeholders in the city to maximise the economic benefits of the Horizon Mall project and will be commenting in greater detail in the days and weeks ahead,” he said.
Limerick City and County Council originally turned down the planning application for a scaled down shopping centre, on the grounds that it contravened the Mid West Retail plan.
Mr Sharma has claimed the Horizon Mall will create hundreds of jobs as well as incorporating Limerick’s first Marks and Spencer store. But now, faced with a tight deadline of August 2016 to complete the build, many doubt the project will come to fruition.
Limerick Chamber is extremely disappointed that permission has been granted to develop the Horizon Mall and is concerned that the scale and extent of this development will have a “direct and irrevocably negative impact” on the vitality and viability of the city centre as the tier-one location within the regions accepted retail hierarchy.
The Chamber now plans to hold discussions with key stakeholders to ensure that the development does not jeopardise and derail the €250 million Limerick 2030 plan which has the potential to deliver 5,000 new jobs.
Fine Gael councillor Maria Byrne told the Limerick Post that she is personally disappointed with the decision by An Bord Pleanála.
“There is much strain on businesses in the centre city and a development with a anchor tenant in the proposed Opera Centre site would help to bring footfall into the centre of Limerick. I think we have enough out of town shopping centres, the majority of which were granted planning permission by the then Limerick County Council and Clare County Council when Limerick City Council had no say”.
“While I see the argument that jobs will be created with this permission, I ask how many of the other centres will end up closing. The only good thing is that the timeframe is very short to complete this scheme so I cannot see it being built in this short time frame,” she predicted.
Sinn Fein leader on Limerick City and County Council, Maurice Quinlivan, said he would much prefer the development of the Opera Centre and the city centre than the Horizon Mall proposal. He said the city was damaged by the cowardice of local TDs, who failed to support a boundary extension over the years and allowed the “doughnut effect” to destroy the city centre.
“This decision will have a negative effect on the city. I would like much more information from the developer as to what his exact plans are. How anyone thinks this development could be completed by August 2016 is beyond me as you’d hardly build a house in that period of time,” he added.
However, with high unemployment in Limerick, he agreed that the prospect of hundreds of jobs couldn’t be dismissed without further discussion.
Anti Austerity Alliance councillor Cian Prendiville said the An Bord Pleanála decision was a “further hammer blow” to a city centre that is already struggling. He believes the Parkway Valley site should be developed for community purposes.
Fine Gael councillor Daniel Butler said he was surprised that planning was upheld for the Horizon Mall, but that the timeline was a huge hurdle and one that could be beyond the developer with a project of this scale.
“We need to look at attracting people to live in the city centre and to shop there. We also need to look at some viable entertainment offerings for people to come and socialise in the city centre, for instance, we do not even have a cinema in there. The issues are complex and up until now have been over simplified and directed incorrectly around parking or attracting some big name retailer,” said Cllr Butler.
Taking a different viewpoint, Limerick Fianna Fail TD Niall Collins said the Horizon Mall project was positive for Limerick job creation and the region. He welcomed the fact that it would create 500 construction jobs and around 1,300 retails jobs.
“I don’t subscribe to the group think that nothing can happen in Limerick until something happens in the city centre. The city centre argument is red herring in my view and we’ll be waiting forever,” said Deputy Collins.
“All the recent jobs created have been high end jobs so these 1,300 retails jobs mixes it up. The public is also entitled to choose in terms of where to shop. Given the low occupancy and low rates of tenancy, you have to ask why M&S haven’t moved into the city before now?”
He went on to say that the 2030 plan should not predicate whether the Horizon Mall project goes ahead or not.
“It must stand on its own merits,” he concluded.
