€40m Donegal plan to go ahead

Donegal County Council has given the go-ahead for a new "mixed use" development in Donegal town centre

Donegal County Council has given the go-ahead for a new "mixed use" development in Donegal town centre. Planning permission for the €40 million project close to The Diamond was granted last week to a construction group headed by local builders Michael Kelly snr and jnr.

It is the second major development project in the town to get the go-ahead in recent months. In December a consortium headed by Keeney Construction was granted permission for a €100 million project on the site of the old Magee factory.

The latest project will include a major retailer as anchor tenant as well as office suites, cafés and a multi-screen cinema, all contained in a glazed mall. There will also be 52 apartments with views over Donegal Bay and 525 car-parking spaces. Construction is due to start by the end of the year.

Michael Kelly jnr said on Sunday that about 50 people would be involved in construction work and the finished development would create 150 new jobs.