ShoppingCentreRedevelopment: A Treasury Holdings company has mounted a public relations campaign to secure planning approval for the redevelopment of the 40-year-old Stillorgan Shopping Centre in south Dublin, citing a 14 per cent fall off in shoppers in March because of competition from the new Dundrum Town Centre.
An Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission for a major revamp of the centre on three separate occasions when local residents objected. Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council is shortly to announce its decision on the most recent application, which provides for a €40 million redevelopment scheme to increase the retail area from 13,380 sq m to 18,046 sq m (144,020-192,245 sq ft). The previous application, turned down by the planning appeals board, was for 21,281 sq m (229,066 sq ft) of space.
The façade has also been revised and will now feature stone, terracotta, timber and glass, to blend in with the neighbourhood. The proposed building line will be set back an average of 34m from existing properties on Old Dublin Road.
If Treasury secures permission on this occasion for the two-year long redevelopment scheme, the promoters plan to keep the centre open and to carry out the work in three stages.
While all the main retail space will be at ground floor, there are plans to provide a gym and crèche and a rooftop restaurant at the junction of Lower Kilmacud Road and Old Dublin Road. The number of car parking spaces would increase by 27 per cent to 873.
Ray Coary, manager of the centre, said yesterday they were disappointed that there had been a small number of objections to the plans now before the council. "The current plans are the result of a long period of consultation with all areas of the local community.
"Recent market research we carried out at the centre showed overwhelming support for the designs, with 86 per cent of people approving of the plans."
