Belfast-based RJ McKinney is seeking a judicial review following the refusal by Irish planners of its proposed £60m Ballymac Designer Village at Dundalk.
The 205,000 sq ft factory outlet centre is close to the Northern Ireland border and would be the first retail project in Ireland specifically built for a cross-border catchment.
Billy McKinney, managing director of RJ McKinney, said: “We are deeply disappointed with the decision. Ballymac would have been an important retail asset for the whole island of Ireland.”
McKinney’s proposals were for a 11.3ha site (28 acre) site less than 50 miles from both Dublin and Belfast. A motorway link from an adjacent roundabout to Dublin will be open by 2002, making the site an hour’s drive from both Dublin and Belfast. It comprises 110 shops and parking for 1600 cars.
The proposed development was designed by Benoy, the specialist retail architect behind Bluewater in Kent and Cheshire Oaks.
Edward Farrar, head of out-of-town retail at McKinney’s adviser, Colliers Erdman Lewis, said: “The location advantages of Ballymac, coupled with its size, would ensure that the scheme ranked among the very best schemes in Europe. There is already strong interest in the scheme from parties who see the potential to come from cross-border Irish market.
RJ McKinney also controls 49ha (120 acres) of adjacent land, on which they propose to submit an application for associated uses to Louth county council in the near future. McKinney advised by Colliers Erdman Lewis.
EGi News 07/12/99
