Ikea coming to Cork

rebel girl 15

peteandjenn wrote: »

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/business/ikea-hold-preliminary-talks-with-mallow-council-467441.html

They are in planning of building a motorway from Cork to Limerick and more than likely the Ikea store will be built in the old sugar factory site. As Mallow is the crossroads of munster it would have costomers from Kerry, Cork and Limerick. There would be easy access from this new motorway to and from the old sugar factory site.

That link is broken, found the story though and its from 30 July! There has been no definite decision - that meeting was to basically stake Mallow's case for Ikea to locate there.

Once the motorway is built, access won't really become an issue. Access to that site from Cork, Kerry and Limerick is quite good, site is only five min spin from train station as well. Hopefully if it is the sugar factory, it would be the start of a major development out there

Owen

rebel girl 15 wrote: »

Once the motorway is built, access won't really become an issue.

That Motorway is going to be a very long time being built. IKEA will want to be open before then. IIRC the roads forum on here are saying it'll be about 5 years before that Motorway is done.

dextero

Why dont people buy proper furniture anymore? You know the type made by a carpenter out of wood, that you keep for a lifetime and pay more than a tenner for! Spend a lot more in the long run on all this cheap crap you see everywhere.

pegasus1

dannym08 wrote: »

going by that there would only be about 7 in all of the UK

and with 9.3 million people in sweden means not even 1 ikea in its home country!!:eek:

http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=wb-wdi&met=sp_pop_totl&idim=country:SWE&dl=en&hl=en&q=what+is+the+population+in+sweden

star.chaser

parsi wrote: »

I heard that Clayton Love was selling Douglas Court to them. Though there was also a rumour that they were going into the old Dunnes in Bishopstown.

*These rumours may or may not be total fabrications.

Square deal on Washington street are also rumored to be building another level and leasing it to IKEA, did you hear that one?

LenaClaire

star.chaser wrote: »

Square deal on Washington street are also rumored to be building another level and leasing it to IKEA, did you hear that one?

I can't imagine that would be anywhere enough space for an IKEA even with an added level. IKEA shops are huge.

peteandjenn

PaintDoctor wrote: »

I can't see the logic of Mallow, but no doubt brown paper envelopes are being prepped as we speak. Roads in and out of Mallow are a disaster, even the roads IN Mallow are a disaster with the light traffic it services. Add a motorway onto that, and you're going to be funnelling in heavy traffic onto small rural town roads and it'll end in tears. And IKEA would love the extra hassle getting deliveries/etc will be being in Mallow as opposed to Cork.

The Amgen site is logically the most sound, but since when has that ever meant anything planning/decision wise in this country? Cork has a good catchment - Limerick/Kerry/Waterford/Tipp are all close, plus there's the RoRo Ferry Service from Ringaskiddy for restocking purposes too. The Dual Carriageway already in place would ease traffic flow compared to Mallow.

The Sugarfactory site is no where near the town center. Any one driving to the sugar factory site from Cork, Limerick or Kerry wouldn't even have to see the town of Mallow if they didn't want to!! So I can't see how it would bring extra traffic to the town. They are sorting out the lights at the bridge as we speak. They are building a boardwalk across the blackwater so that thay can take the footpath off the bridge to make it wider and knocking the old toilets to make extra lanes of traffic If any one from Ikea wanted to visit the town of Mallow

peteandjenn

PaintDoctor wrote: »

That Motorway is going to be a very long time being built. IKEA will want to be open before then. IIRC the roads forum on here are saying it'll be about 5 years before that Motorway is done.

The motorway will have to be built or in process of being built before Ikea will ever turn a sod of grass. No point in building a motorway and then when its built having to rebuild a new access and exit road off it.

peteandjenn

Oh and I forgot to say the amgem site won't be used as Dublin is the same distance from Waterford as it is from Cork so they wouldn't gain anything from there and Tipperary is alot closer to Mallow as it is from Cork so I suppose you could and another county to the list Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary woo hoo

star.chaser

jujibee wrote: »

I can't imagine that would be anywhere enough space for an IKEA even with an added level. IKEA shops are huge.

they're only leasing the new level not the whole building and then they're going to go head to head

LenaClaire

star.chaser wrote: »

they're only leasing the new level not the whole building and then they're going to go head to head

Do people honestly think that would work?

gbee

jujibee wrote: »

Do people honestly think that would work?

I thought the comment was misplaced myself.

Abelloid

jujibee wrote: »

I can't imagine that would be anywhere enough space for an IKEA even with an added level. IKEA shops are huge.

Only after assembly.

parsi

jujibee wrote: »

Do people honestly think that would work?

I can see Square Deal giving them Swedes a run for their money alright. Plenty of on-street car parking in Washington Street and all.

grenache

Mallow is the most logical place to have an IKEA if its to come to the South West at all. Its the most central location and the town is crying out for proper investment since the closure of Irish Sugar.

Owen

Mallow makes no sense at all. It'll be 5 years before it has a decent road network to cope with traffic, and it's far from being central. I sympathise with the loss of the sugar plant, but it's hardly grounds to shoehorn in a company the town currently isn't capable of supporting.

star.chaser

Apparently, IKEA are in talks with OFC about taking the first 9 storeys of the Elysian and two levels of the underground car park.

Abelloid

I heard they were after Little Island, all of it, but plan to detach it and push it out to meet the South ring at Mahon.

Owen

Little Island wouldn't be the worst idea, there's so many vacant units in Eastgate with a bucket load of parking outside. Turn the parking into a multistorey and you're sorted.

The more I think about Mallow, the more I think what a bad idea it is. There's no road worth talking about going into the place, coming from Cork it's a single carriageway but wide, leaving Mallow for Limerick it's a small twisty road to NewTwopotHouse and on to glorious Buttevant. Go West and you're on small roads again until you get past the petrol station, go East and you're on smaller roads to Mitchelstown.

Plus, Mallow can't even handle traffic it has at the moment, getting through the main street at busy times can be fun. Add in a few hundred shoppers and their cars popping into the McDonalds after IKEA, and it'd go mental. Some farmer would be done for manslaughter after 3 weeks of being stuck in traffic

star.chaser

JustinOval wrote: »

I heard they were after Little Island, all of it, but plan to detach it and push it out to meet the South ring at Mahon.

yeah, i heard about that. they had an ad in the echo looking for volunteers to push it but couldn't find enough so the idea was scrapped.

Lando Griffin

PaintDoctor wrote: »

Plus, Mallow can't even handle traffic it has at the moment, getting through the main street at busy times can be fun. Add in a few hundred shoppers and their cars popping into the McDonalds after IKEA, and it'd go mental. Some farmer would be done for manslaughter after 3 weeks of being stuck in traffic

No need, there is an in store restraunt in all Ikeas selling top quality Sweedish grub.

Owen

I'd hardly call the food area in IKEA Dublin a restaurant!

pegasus1

it's better grub than mcD's, swedish meatballs anyone? plus it's cheaper!

Abelloid

pegasus1 wrote: »

it's better grub than mcD's, swedish meatballs anyone? plus it's cheaper!

The furniture is better grub than McD's.


I really like IKEA food.

langdang

pegasus1 wrote: »

it's better grub than mcD's, swedish meatballs anyone? plus it's cheaper!

Will be a massive hit on mart day, no more bacon and cabbage or bunburger and a sausage (and a pot of fizzy orange) in cosmopolitan Mallow

5 years for a proper road network there, I have to admire your optimism PaintDoctor! Gonna be 10 I reckon before the Cork-Limerick cattletrack is finally replaced. Nevermind some of the roads east and west outta Mallow - isn't the N72 Mallow to Castletownroche regarded as a death trap? Even by local councillors? (See how fast the description is changed to "fabulous piece of infrastructure" when they pitch for this)

So if it comes, the current rolling roadblocks that infest the roads around there will no longer be really slow Corollas, they'll be really really slow Corollas with poorly restrained furniture protruding at ridiculous angles and lengths. Christonabike, I'll never be able to get home from Limerick at the weekends.

Nukem

I heard the whole Carrigtohill thing for IKEA a few months back and took it as Chinese whispers as a few days later there was rumors of Heineken taking the old Angem site as well, which would make way more sense (especially if anyone has seen Bulmers in Clonmel, Guinness in Dublin = huge sites).

Malllow though? Its really inaccessible from Cork/Limerick/Kerry/Tipp and a heap of money for infrastructure would be required for roads. You look at the access issues relating to planning they had in Dublin - your talking some serious cash to bring the roads up to scratch just for one store? I don't see it - somewhere like Fermoy/Mitchelstown would be far better idea IMO.

cgcsb

Max001 wrote: »

Used to work for Ikea doing new store start-ups in the early 90's when they were setting up in the UK. Generally the rule of thumb was that a potential site needed a catchment of ten million people within 30 mins driving to be viable. That said, some outlets are smaller in size and some are franchises, so that rule is flexible. I'd doubt Ikea would put another store in Ireland. Just can't see it being viable.

Obviously thier strategy has changed since the 90's, if that were the case there'd only be one store in London and none in the rest of the UK, Dublin and Belfast certainly wouldn't have one, there'd be a max of 2 in Germany, 1 in France and there'd be a total of 0 in Sweeden.

who_me

cgcsb wrote: »

Obviously thier strategy has changed since the 90's, if that were the case there'd only be one store in London and none in the rest of the UK, Dublin and Belfast certainly wouldn't have one, there'd be a max of 2 in Germany, 1 in France and there'd be a total of 0 in Sweeden.

3 year old thread!

But your're right - Ikea are now looking at putting a second store in Dublin. So why not in Cork/Munster?

blindsider

Unfortunately, it seems that an IKEA store would not get planning permission in Munster. Their stores are larger than normal and I believe the Dublin store had to get a dispensation to build. Other stores e.g. B&Q are similarly ham-strung.

Although planning restrictions have now been lifted, I believe that the list of potential objectors is off-putting.

It's a crying shame!

Hogzy

blindsider wrote: »

Unfortunately, it seems that an IKEA store would not get planning permission in Munster. Their stores are larger than normal and I believe the Dublin store had to get a dispensation to build. Other stores e.g. B&Q are similarly ham-strung.

Although planning restrictions have now been lifted, I believe that the list of potential objectors is off-putting.

It's a crying shame!

Id say its more the fact that a store of this size would have to be built in an area zoned for industrial/commercial builds. Finding a site large enough in such a zoned area would be very hard in places like Cork or Limerick.