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PLANS FOR A major new retail outlet in east Cork could hinge on a decision of the Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Damien English, who has been urged to reverse a recent decision by Cork County Council that was designed to facilitate a €100m “tourist outlet village”.
The Planning Regulator, Niall Cussen, has issued a recommendation to English to direct Cork County Council to annul the recent variation to the Cork County Development Plan which would allow for the development of a Kildare Village-style centre near Carrigtwohill.
It is the first time that the regulator, whose office was established last year, has used his powers to make a formal recommendation to the minister to direct a local authority to follow his orders.
Under legislation, English has two weeks to decide whether to accept or reject the regulator’s recommendation.
UK property firm, Rioja Estates, announced its plans last November for a tourist outlet village selling heavily discounted leading brands at Killacoyne outside the east Cork village which would create more than 850 jobs and attract 220,000 additional tourists to the region annually.
The company expressed hope that the facility could open by March 2024.
In January, councillors supported by the local authority’s chief executive, Tim Lucey, voted 42-4 to alter the Cork County Development Plan to allow for a major retail outlet to be developed near Carrigtwohill.
Lucey said he and his officials held a strong view that there was retail capacity to accommodate such a centre without it having an adverse impact on other retailers in Cork.
However, Cussen said the recent decision by Cork County Council to go ahead with a change to the Cork County Development Plan 2014 was inconsistent with his own recommendation notified to the council in November that the variation should not be made prior to the preparation by both local authorities in Cork of an updated retail strategy for the Cork region as required under retail planning guidelines.
The amendment allows for the provision of a retail outlet centre on the N25 corridor.
In a letter to English, the regulator said the council’s decision was premature and resulted in a development plan that fails to set out an overall strategy for the proper planning and sustainable development of Cork which represented a breach of the legislation.
Cussen said the existing Metropolitan Cork Joint Retail Strategy contained no policy guidance or direction on the development of retail outlets that were consistent with the central objectives of national retail guidelines.
He pointed out that a retail study which informed the recent variation made by Cork County Council concluded there was only capacity for one such retail outlet in the Cork area.
“The identification of a preferred sub-catchment for one retail type in advance of the joint retail strategy represents a piecemeal rather than strategic approach to planning” said Cussen.
The regulator said it was premature to identify the preferred location for a retail outlet centre in advance of the updated joint retail strategy to be undertaken by the two councils, particularly given there was only capacity for one development of that type.
He also complained that the variation did not have sufficient regard for guidelines on spatial planning and national roads, particularly in relation to issues regarding road safety and traffic capacity linked to developments that were highly dependent on being accessed by cars.
The regulator noted that Transport Infrastructure Ireland had also voiced concerns about the changes made by the council given traffic issues on the N25.
Two other potential locations for a retail outlet centre on the N20 (Cork-Limerick) corridor and N22 (Cork-Killarney) corridor were identified by the council and found to have less impact on traffic but they were not subject to detailed assessment.
Cussen said his office had a statutory duty to evaluate and assess proposed variation to development plans of local authorities in relation to proper planning and sustainable development.
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Typo in the headline. Should read “Taxpayer has written off 2 billion of SME debt”
The SME’s moan a lot that they can’t get credit, but they don’t seem to be too good at paying back what they owe.
If I was a bank I wouldn’t lend to them either. Let them bootstrap themselves and generate their own cash or capital to fund their business if it makes any commercial sense.
You obviously have never been involved in a business or never will be.
Every economy lives or dies on SME’s.
We could survive without Multi-nationals, brutal as that would be.
An economy is completely gone if SME go.
You proposal above would make turn Ireland in to one of the poorest countries in the world in a decade. They do not even do that in Africa.
A lot of SME’s do not help themselves… No / poor grasp of financials, cash businesses not lodging full turnover to bank accounts, others blatantly admitting to tax evasion and so on. We need smarter business people in this country not have a go heros. All of the above comes from my sources in the industry… I have no reason not to disbelieve them.
Truth be told it isnt written off the taxpayers have paid for it.
On the paper today how much it cost the Irish taxpayer to write off mick wallace’s Aib debt. No mention on the journal yet. Even though every time he gives a speech from his moral high ground, the journal are quick to post it.
All they are doing is recognising bad debt as bad debt by converting provisions to write offs. The cost to the Bank (or taxpayer) was taken long ago.
This is normal business practice. That is was not normal prior is a testimony to the old fashioned ways our banks were run, to great cost..
Normally the State does not use tax payers money to directly fund private enterprise.
So no, Seanie, it is not normal business practice.
Business once again gets a bail out while the unfortunate house holder in difficulty gets stuffed by government and the banks……
Kerry
Let’s sign up to your highly intelligent brand of economics. Let’s insist that the Banks pay a dividend of circa three thousand Euro per household at the end of the year and tell them to just write it off their balance sheets.
I really look forward to your fascinating contributions.
They’re at least good for a guffaw…….no wonder you don’t use your real name!
So you disagree the SME’s are being treated differently to house holders Richard? I’d argue with you but seeing as your grasp of reality and what is happening to ordinary Irish citizens is so vague there is no point. By the way I don’t see any reference by me to economic policy in what I said above just a statement of fact. But hey Richard if your happy with peoples family life being destroyed by financial stress that’s fine your welcome to what ever floats your boat.
“Stephen Mason, Director of BOI’s mortgage arrears resolution strategy, admitted that the bank would veto any Personal Insolvency Practitioner suggestions of debt write-down”, but its ok for them to pay 1% of first time buyers stamp duty. There needs to be consistency across the banks when dealing with problem debt. Whats good for the goose is good for the gander or do you propose that we recognise some peoples debt as less valid than others? The dotted line was signed, why should business owners benefit where others do not?
Kerry
You can call Richard a few names too ;)
The other equally lovable Richie ( Boucher ) will only do write-off’s on unsecured debt , and not secured debt ( mortgage) unless the person is successful through Personal Insolvency ( which is highly unlikely since the bank has 65% veto power ) or bankruptcy !
AIB ,on the other hand ,have been writing off debt for home-owners and now SME’s !
Kerry remember that small business owners have families too and no dole should the business fail. They employ employees who are family members to someone’s family. I am a small business owner, very small and crippled with debt. That debt was perfectly manageable 5 or 6 years ago, when you had money to spend, but now I can see now way out, but all I can do is keep trying. Don’t assume every business has money -some like mine have none, and all my debt is (as a sole trader) personal
I’ve lots of sympathy for you and people in your position Ian all I was doing is pointing out the different standards….
Good old tax payer bailing everybody out….we should get a medal. Who is going to bail us out when we are bled dry bailing everybody else???
2 billion divided by 1,500 SME’s = 1.333million written off to each company….
Some SME’s they are….
More like their mates got the write down first
Normal person owes a couple of grand and they have the solicitors letters out..
Was going to post that myself. Bank managers friends etc will get there piece first, keep them in a life there accustomed to. But keep the little man down.
Why does it matter? Either way SME’s are getting debt reductions…
How much did the AIB shareholders lose because of greed and bad management?
have your say