Designer outlets at shopping destination Kildare Village will no longer have to discount all their stock after winning a planning battle to remove what they called “overly restrictive” planning conditions.
Kildare County Council has amended planning conditions to allow shops there to sell a limited range of non-discounted goods – no more than 10 per cent of the floor space and of the goods on sale at any individual store.
Consultants for the operators of the centre had argued that the “no longer fit for purpose” planning conditions requiring all goods on sale to be available at a discount limited the ability of Kildare Village to attract global brands.
The permission was granted only after the council’s acting senior planner overruled two of his team who had signed off on refusing planning permission to the Value Retail Dublin Ltd application.
Operating since 2006, Kildare Village now comprises 125 units and employs 1,500 people, and says it attracts four million visitors per annum looking to purchase brands that include Prada, Louise Kennedy and Armani.
Figures provided by planning consultants for Kildare Village, RMLA, show that the estimated revenues generated at Kildare Village each year are €182 million.
2023: The year in business
RMLA argued that the “incidental sale of non-discounted goods from Kildare Village will not undermine its role as an ‘outlet centre’ or its main function in specialising in selling discounted goods”. It said amending the conditions would result in an annual uplift of €382,385 in spending at the shopping mall.
The advisers said the sought-after flexibility in Kildare Village’s retail offer “will not result in either a quantifiable or qualitative impact on nearby retail centres”. The ability to sell non-discounted goods – on 10 per cent of the floor space and of the total goods on sale – will apply to up to 70 per cent of Kildare Village outlets.
The council planner’s report reveals that two planners agreed permission should be refused on four separate grounds, including that the introduction of an element of non-discounted comparison goods “would have a serious detrimental impact on the functioning and regeneration opportunities of the [nearby] Kildare town centre”.
Acting senior planner Aoife Brangan “noted” the recommendation to refuse but directed that permission be granted after finding it was in accordance with the Kildare Town Local Area Plan.
She said the impact of the change of planning conditions on nearby retail centres would be “negligible” – with a calculation suggesting it would be 0.0107 per cent.
Ms Brangan also pointed out only four of Kildare Village’s retailers have a presence elsewhere in the State and that the proposal does not include any additional retail floor space.
- Sign up for Business push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Our Inside Business podcast is published weekly – Find the latest episode here
