This article is from page 12 of the 2011-06-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
THE man behind a new multi-million shopping centre in Miltown Malbay believes that a number of businesses have been lost to the town in recent years because of delays in the planning process.
John Jones, whose family have been in business in Miltown for nearly 200 years, gained planning permission for a € 4m supermarket last week – after six years and three different attempts at through the planning process.
According to Mr Jones, the new development could help the town attract other businesses and generate new employment in Miltown Malbay.
“I think this would have made Miltown more attractive for other businesses to come in. Miltown has no factories and it has no large scale employer. It needs something to get more people working and get money generating in the area and that will help the area to prosper. Hopefully this can help kick-start the rest of the town,” he said.
“There should be up to 50 employed in the shop and obviously there would be extra seasonal employment. Miltown hasn’t exactly developed as well as other towns in recent years. What- ever you say about the [planning] objectors, they have definitely put Miltown on the back foot because this project has been held up. Other towns might have factories to provide employment but Miltown doesn’t have that; Miltown has suffered over the last few years.
“I’m delighted to get it finished. I think I always knew that I would get there in the end but some people used the system to hold me up. What we were proposing was always going to go through eventually.
“The last time at we went to Bord Pleanála we were told that we had too much car parking, which was strange in itself. But we decided that we would use that space for an Astro Turf field instead.”
The development consists of a 10,000 square foot supermarket, 150 car parking spaces, a relief road for the town, children’s playground and an Astro-Turf facility with associated dressing rooms and lighting.
Building work is due to begin on the development later this summer and could be completed by Easter of 2012. As well as the 50 full-time jobs, the development will generate as much as 150 new positions during the construction phase.