Dublin Road Retail Park

dnme

Is it dying ?

It seems very empty, a few of the retails have moved out and the car park seems like a vast empty space most of the time.

On Saturday, I looked up PC World opening times on the web, I saw somewhere that on Saturday's, they were open 'til 8pm. So I headed in to do some shopping arriving at the retail park at 6pm to see the last two shops closing their doors (PCW and Homebase).

6pm on a Saturday evening and the entire retail park is closed. Am I missing something here?

Basq

Yep. Shocking, isn't it?

What's left up there now exactly? Currys, PC World, Homebase, Halfords, Cost Plus Sofas, Harry Corry and another furniture place?

dingding

Is there a Tile/Carpet place there also.

Radharc na Sleibhte

Late openings is usually Thursday and Friday is it not?

genie

I really miss InStore's coffee shop.

starbelgrade

genie wrote: »

I really miss InStore's coffee shop.

I miss the shop more than the coffee!

Son Of A Vidic

genie wrote: »

I really miss InStore's coffee shop.

Plus their toilet facilities in times of an emergency.:eek:

magnumlady

genie wrote: »

I really miss InStore's coffee shop.

Us too. We used to go for a wander around the shops and pop in for a cuppa.

saywhatyousee

its in a bad location i think with the inner relif road a lot of passing traffic would miss it bundoran road i think would be a better location for one

il gatto

Needs an large supermarket as an anchor tennant. Everyone knew this from the start. Authorities in their wisdom deemed it against their made up rules.

starbelgrade

medicman2009 wrote: »

Plus their toilet facilities in times of an emergency.:eek:

Isn't that why they built a McDonalds there?

Essexboy

il gatto wrote: »

Needs an large supermarket as an anchor tennant. Everyone knew this from the start. Authorities in their wisdom deemed it against their made up rules.

Pressure from the Chamber of Confinement, many of whose members double up as councilllors eg Imelda Henry

Japer

saywhatyousee wrote: »

its in a bad location i think with the inner relif road a lot of passing traffic would miss it bundoran road i think would be a better location for one

I have to agree. Whenever anyone goes to Sligo for a weekend or to browse around some shops nobody would ever think of going there, so no wonder its failed. Its too far out of town and off the beaten track. Plus as you approach it, its very misleading because you see all these signs in the distance, past the mostly empty car park, but when you get us close you see the shops are mostly vacant. The whole place is a ghost estate from the Celtic tiger era and should never have been built, so far from other shops, transport hubs etc. It destroyed good farming land. One of many developments in NAMA I suppose. Maybe the IDA should try to develop light industry there ? There is too much retail space already and having so many newly arrived foreign owned shops, selling furniture and white goods to ourselves, was not sustainable.

Currys PC World: Declan

I can give a retailer's perspective to contribute to the debate for what it's worth. Obviously the park is not what it used to be but it's not dying either. We are investing currently in a 2 in 1 format for Currys & PC World across the country and would not envisage changing location when the time comes for Sligo.

For whatever reason, the park has always had some noise around it, even when it was full. I've been asked by other retailers / property people why it hasn't been a great success and all that I have said, and can say now, is that this has not been our experience. There are too many retail parks across the country for sure and many places I'm glad I avoided, but this isn't one of them.

I think once the general fear of investment by all businesses calms down, which is in fairness a while away, there may some action on this and other parks. Rental levels are very different from what they were.

artyeva

Japer wrote: »

There is too much retail space already and having so many newly arrived foreign owned shops, selling furniture and white goods to ourselves, was not sustainable.

not all of them were foreign owned. instore is irish.

jazyguy

As was Classic Furniture

vinniew09

il gatto wrote: »

Needs an large supermarket as an anchor tennant. Everyone knew this from the start. Authorities in their wisdom deemed it against their made up rules.

to be fair look at the business's that have closed up their...alot of them where in the furniture market which has just taking a massive blow with the economy downturn with the exception of toycity and 2seasons...im working up their 3 and a half years and the place needs to be revived with an aldi or even tesco.sligos chamber of commerce is made up of people with local business's who care for themselves and do not want to loose whatever business they have in the town, until this changes the liklyhood of a large supermarket arriving out seems dim

tedshredsonfire

here we go again can you please close your eyes and imagine how dead sligo town would be if tesco went there becase if they went there so would penneys and dunnes now take those three from wine street and O connell street and you have a ghost town end of story. The reason I guess most business went bust up there was rent thats what instore said as there reason. I have no idea what region the rents are now but when it first started I was quoted nearly 250,000 euro per annum for a unit, thats a heck of a lot of sales to make up just to pay the rent.

KayTee

"... and imagine how dead sligo town would be if tesco went there becase if they went there so would penneys and dunnes now take those three from wine street and O connell street and you have a ghost town end of story."


far as I'm aware, Tesco is not being included in the new development in Wine Street - the word is that they want out of that particular location in Sligo town. Penneys is not included either, but will be linked in to the development once it is finished. Dunnes may or may not be, but I have heard that will not hold up the development one way or another.

Work is due to begin in 2011, whether it does or not is another issue..

il gatto

tedshredsonfire wrote: »

here we go again can you please close your eyes and imagine how dead sligo town would be if tesco went there becase if they went there so would penneys and dunnes now take those three from wine street and O connell street and you have a ghost town end of story. The reason I guess most business went bust up there was rent thats what instore said as there reason. I have no idea what region the rents are now but when it first started I was quoted nearly 250,000 euro per annum for a unit, thats a heck of a lot of sales to make up just to pay the rent.

Here we go again? Excuse me? You're suggesting having the center of town choked on traffic for a few brief periods a week because people need food is somehow keeping the center of town in business?
How about you close your eyes and think of an Irish town of comparable size without a large supermarket on the outskirts, then explain how Sligo's economic performance is exceeding theirs.
Business' went bust because our inept government drove the economy into the ground to remain in power for as long as possible. Therefore there's little disposable income, ergo sales going through the floor and business' closing all over, not just the retail park.
It's common practice for any "shopping center" to have an anchor tennant to keep foot traffic passing through. Quayside was supposed to have one but they pulled out citing traffic concerns.
The CoC put forward this red herring because they feared their own members may suffer rather than the town as a whole. The greater good was not part of their consideration. I don't see how Enniskillen, Carrick-on-Shannon or Galway have suffered by having large supermarkets on the outskirts of town. What makes Sligo so different?

UrbanSea

That must be one of the worst placed Tesco shops I have ever seen in fairness.

czarak

A lot of interesting points.

Firstly Sligo has had a glaring need to have the town centre (Tesco, Tesco Car Park, Dunnes) redeveloped. It's the last big eyesore in the town which badly needs development and a multi-storey car park is part of it. It's being ongoing for 10 years but is apparently moving close to a conclusion for the development to happen. It's been that difficult that it's gone on ten years already and still hasn't started - if anyone thinks it would ever happen if the planning guidelines were broken for the retail park in Carraroe they're delusional.

As for the traffic in the town centre, removing food retailers from the town centre is not the solution. The solution to all the traffic problems is the Eastern Bridge. All the traffic from the East side of Sligo is being funnelled through two old extremely narrow bridges right in the town centre.

www.facebook.com/SligoEasternBridgeNow

So with the development of the town centre block (with its included multi-storey car park) and with the Eastern Bridge we would have a shiny new town centre with much more parking and much easier access and traffic flow.

It's amazing that there were people in Ireland even during the boom who thought it was a good idea to move the retailing of food and small goods to retail parks (after the experience of towns across England which have died because of this sort of development in the 90s) but to think that there are still people in Ireland in 2010 who think it's a good idea is mind-boggling. There was a very interesting article in the Sunday Business Post last weekend which detailed how Limerick town centre is becoming like a ghost town, full of empty units and becoming totally rundown because everything was allowed move out into retail parks.

il gatto

czarak wrote: »

A lot of interesting points.

Firstly Sligo has had a glaring need to have the town centre (Tesco, Tesco Car Park, Dunnes) redeveloped. It's the last big eyesore in the town which badly needs development and a multi-storey car park is part of it. It's being ongoing for 10 years but is apparently moving close to a conclusion for the development to happen. It's been that difficult that it's gone on ten years already and still hasn't started - if anyone thinks it would ever happen if the planning guidelines were broken for the retail park in Carraroe they're delusional.

As for the traffic in the town centre, removing food retailers from the town centre is not the solution. The solution to all the traffic problems is the Eastern Bridge. All the traffic from the East side of Sligo is being funnelled through two old extremely narrow bridges right in the town centre.

www.facebook.com/SligoEasternBridgeNow

So with the development of the town centre block (with its included multi-storey car park) and with the Eastern Bridge we would have a shiny new town centre with much more parking and much easier access and traffic flow.

It's amazing that there were people in Ireland even during the boom who thought it was a good idea to move the retailing of food and small goods to retail parks (after the experience of towns across England which have died because of this sort of development in the 90s) but to think that there are still people in Ireland in 2010 who think it's a good idea is mind-boggling. There was a very interesting article in the Sunday Business Post last weekend which detailed how Limerick town centre is becoming like a ghost town, full of empty units and becoming totally rundown because everything was allowed move out into retail parks.

As mind boggling as you believing that Sligo's business model is outperforming the likes of Galway and Enniskillen? Food retail of the nature of Tesco and Dunnes have wiped out smaller, more specialised retailers in town centers down the years. They bring excess traffic to a antiquated street system, most of whom are only intent on buying groceries. Their presence clogs up the town discouraging shoppers from venturing in on certain days.
Sligo is not special. Nobody is arguing for an out of town "mall". Just giving people the choice of not heading into the town center if they only want groceries.
Fully agree with the Eastern Bridge though.

Japer

czarak wrote: »

It's amazing that there were people in Ireland even during the boom who thought it was a good idea to move the retailing of food and small goods to retail parks (after the experience of towns across England which have died because of this sort of development in the 90s) but to think that there are still people in Ireland in 2010 who think it's a good idea is mind-boggling. There was a very interesting article in the Sunday Business Post last weekend which detailed how Limerick town centre is becoming like a ghost town, full of empty units and becoming totally rundown because everything was allowed move out into retail parks.

Well said. The population of Co. Sligo is not big, and with proper traffic management and car parking facilities - close to and easily accessed from the inner relief road - the shopping in the town should be developed. Dunnes and Tescos and Pennys have plans to develop in the town centre. Its where buses, taxis, trains, banks, offices, speciality shops + cafes etc are. It makes sense. The key is in making car parking cheaper and more plentiful and more user friendly between the inner relief road ( where most cars come from ) and the town centre. Then you will encourage a vibrant town, a critical mass, a town where everyone can enjoy and easily visit a wide variety of shops, institutions, pubs and cafes....without being discriminated against because they do not have a car.

tedshredsonfire

+1 on the above. il gatto in fairness carrick town is hardly booming and the centre is pretty dead now or so i have been told. the shops are too far to walk from the town centre. Enniskillen shops can easily be walked to from the town centre they even have pedestrian crossings. CoC are not againest out of town but have always stated get the centre done first then develop out of town. the 10 year debacle of the town centre is a joke and the fact that we have handed over the car park to treasury an even worse one. A local developer cant develop his buildings due to this.