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€280m City Centre Development |
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Waterford Chamber disappointed at delay to €280m city centre development
Waterford Chamber has expressed disappointment at the delay caused to a €280m development in the city centre by an appeal to An Bord Pleanála.
Waterford City Council granted planning permission earlier this month to KRM Construction Partnership for a major retail, hotel and residential development on a 5.1 acre site at New Street, Michael Street, Stephen Street and Brown’s Lane.
It had been hoped to start construction work on the project in September with some 600 jobs to be created during that phase and a further 1,300 from the end of 2009 when the development was due for completion.
Chamber President Andrew O’Neill said “There is no doubt but that Waterford city centre needs very significant investment if it is to compete successfully with other urban centres in the southeast and elsewhere in the country.
“There is a growing body of anecdotal and research evidence that the leakage of retail spending from Waterford is continuing to increase and now runs at in excess of €19.2m per year. If this flow of money out of the city is to be stemmed then we need to have major attractions that keep spending in Waterford and which also make the city a more attractive shopping and leisure destination.
“Aside from the direct employment that this development has the potential to create in our city, there is also a tremendous multiplier effect that would have far wider benefits for new and existing businesses.
“While we are continuing to see tremendous investment in our transport infrastructure, Waterford clearly has some catching up to do economically if we are to fulfil our designated role as gateway to the southeast. We were reminded of this once again with the recent data from Census 2006 showing the overall unemployment rate in this city was the third highest in the country at 12.6 per cent, compared to a national figure of 8.5 per cent. We also have almost 10 per cent of the unemployment ‘blackspots’ in the country located in our city so we certainly can’t be complacent about what inward investment we attract.”
The Chamber President said those lodging appeals that delay vitally needed projects in Waterford should take a wider view of where the city stands within the southeast and nationally. “The reality is that towns like Carlow, Clonmel, Kilkenny and Wexford have not been standing still for the last five or 10 years. Rather, they have seen massive investment that has created tremendous employment opportunities and made them more attractive places to live and work in as well as to visit.
“Waterford Chamber certainly doesn’t take the view that all development is necessarily desirable but when a project has had a very extensive public consultation period and been analysed in tremendous detail by the city planners who approved it having rejected an earlier application then it is a shame that it should be subjected to a delay that will cost Waterford very substantially. This also sends a regrettable signal to others considering large-scale investments in our city.”
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