A MAJOR town centre redevelopment in Killarney which will see the relocation of the existing Penneys and the demolition of well-known Killarney commercial premises is to get under way in April, following an An Bord Pleanála decision.
The move by Penneys to a 30,000sq ft store in High Street, across from its current smaller location, is expected to be completed late next year. It will be part of a development involving car parking, and office space, taking in the High Street, Hilliards Lane area.
More than an acre of prime town centre property is involved in the development, which will see the demolition of Eager’s newsagents and O’Meara’s bar, the old Hilliard’s shoe and boot factory and a dwelling house. It will be fronted by the two-storey Penneys store with set-back second and third storeys in a largely minimalist, modern design.
Killarney Town Council had granted permission a year ago to local company Trout Lake for the retail and commercial building but this had been appealed by local residents who had concerns about parking, congestion and impact on their day-to-day lives.
An Bord Pleanála inspector Keiron L Dunn had advised against the proposal. He said there was a need to address the “leaching of trade” to out-of-town locations and this could be done by providing larger retail units and more parking, “but people are also attracted to historic town centres because of their unique character and appearance”. He felt the Killarney proposal should be rejected on design grounds. But the board suggested a number of design revisions, which were accepted, and it granted permission subject to a number of conditions.
The owner of the site, local businessman Pat Duggan, said he expected the larger Penneys store to employ 80 people, four times its current number. Some 80 jobs will be created during construction also.
Penneys have has a presence in the town since 1974. Last year the company opened a major new Tralee town centre store.