Mixed welcome for shopping centre as town traders fear loss of business

UP TO 450 jobs are to be created with the opening of a shopping centre, anchored by one of the largest Tesco supermarkets in the country, on the outskirts of Balbriggan in north Co Dublin.

The Millfield shopping centre opened yesterday with 200 jobs provided by the supermarket and a further 100 jobs in cafes and a small number of shops. Another 150 jobs are expected to be created when more shops and a McDonald’s drive-thru restaurant open in the coming months.

The centre opened at 8am and by lunchtime was thronged with shoppers, with almost 700 of the 950 car parking spaces occupied. The Tesco outlet, which sells clothing, electrics and toys in addition to groceries, replaces an older branch of the chain in Balbriggan which closed last weekend.

Shoppers in the new centre were generally positive about the development, located about 10 minutes’ walk from Balbriggan town.

“I think it’s great for the town. I work a 12-hour shift as a care assistant, and it’s open 24 hours, but I’d be a bit worried about senior citizens. With the other Tesco in the town closing, this might be a bit far for them to walk,” Balbriggan resident Dagmar Smith said.

Rita St Ledger from nearby Rush said she was concerned about the effect the centre would have on Balbriggan town.

“Places like this destroy a town centre. I saw it happen in America 20 years ago, and it has already happened in county towns here. I did come here today, but it won’t be where I do my regular shop.”

In the old town centre, retailers were apprehensive and said it was hard to gauge what effect the new development would have.

“I’d definitely be worried. There was a similar situation in Drogheda and it had a really bad effect on the high street,” Martin Browne of S Browne and Sons butchers said.

Mr Browne’s shop is located next door to the old Tesco store. He said he benefited from shoppers who would do their main grocery shop in Tesco at the weekend but would come to him for their meat. It was difficult yesterday to determine whether his business would migrate to the centre, which has a butcher’s shop as well as the supermarket meat section, but any impact would probably be apparent on Friday and Saturday, he said.

“The new place will probably attract people, but if they’re on the ring road will they come down into the town where they could get stuck in traffic, or will they decide it’s easier to just buy their meat there?”

He said he hoped loyal customers would keep his business going.

“We’d get a different crowd to people who buy their meat in a supermarket. We only sell Irish products and we’re sticking to that. The hope is that people will go for a look but will come back to us.”

Mary Thompson, manager of O’Regan’s pharmacy in Balbriggan, said she was confident the new centre, which will have a pharmacy in the coming months, wouldn’t damage her high street business. “We’re right next to the doctor’s, so I think we’ll be okay. I hope that will be the situation in general, because this town has suffered enough with businesses closing, but I don’t know. Swords did have a boom when the shopping centre opened there, but that was a few years ago at a different time.”

Another new retailer to open its doors yesterday was Neighbour Shop, a discount store run by Fay Chen. “I’m delighted about the shopping centre, I think it will be good for the town. The other Tesco was too small and there was nowhere to park. We have a different type of business, so I think any impact will be positive.”