Mart Site Sold

pueblo

kikel wrote: »

Do you think M&S would fit in that space?

Yes you might get more people going to kilkenny but very few would go to the city centre. Like carlow the main street would die. The current executive f*£ked up carlow and they are hell bent on doing the same to kilkenny.

I agree about M&S not fitting on that space, but I think you are wrong to believe that all people (shoppers) want is a retail park experience.

There is more! For example restaurants,boutiques,hotels, art/heritage/archietecture /culture, the medieval mile, the list goes on..

...even if Penneys, Heatons and/or others left there would still be a good number of quality retailers/services left operating in the centre and certainly enough to remain a strong draw for footfall and spend imo.

kikel

If the mart site goes into large retail then the high street will really suffer hard. Just look at Naas and Carlow. Go speak to business on these towns Main Street an see the effect of out of town retail. The mart site will disect again kilkennys unique offering.

I'm all up for these shops for coming to kilkenny but how the fit in is very important. If it were my decision I would rip down the car park in market cross and put in an m&s thereafter could let penny's expand. It's got high street/heritage mile frontage. Granted parking is now an issue but mart site could be park and ride. Not the normal view but he'll we'd be getting more people on that medieval mile. Protect our core for all, citizens, current retailers, tourists.

pegasus1

kikel wrote: »

If it were my decision I would rip down the car park in market cross and put in an m&s

where would you park the car?

kikel

pegasus1 wrote: »

where would you park the car?

Yes parking would be something to look at. Park and ride would be great from mart site. Also car parks could be located in other places. But the main idea is focusing on our core and really develop what we got rather than split our core again with a new retail area.

Deathwish4

Park and ride in Kilkenny city :eek:

kikel

Deathwish4 wrote: »

Park and ride in Kilkenny city :eek:

Sure why not?

pueblo

kikel wrote: »

Sure why not?

they could use that train/bus thingy that does the tours

kikel

pueblo wrote: »

they could use that train/bus thingy that does the tours

It would be unique for an Irish city/town. Kilkenny could be an even better place if we removed cars from our streets especially during main shopping hours. Eg 11-6pm each day.

linny

planning has just be lodged for the new 10 screen, 1444 seat,4225sqm cinema on the old mart site, this will be great when it comes to pass,
http://planning.kilkennycoco.ie/FileRefDetails.aspx?file_number=1576&LASiteID=0

Threadhead

So breaking this down, and tell me if I've got this wrong, the new cinema will be on Barrack Street, with entrances on both the street side and the mart side. There's going to be a public square here coupled with a car park and this is what will be on the Mart side as far as it meets the CAS road. Is that right?

Any ideas then what's happening with the mart land on the other side of the CAS?

catbear

Threadhead wrote: »

Any ideas then what's happening with the mart land on the other side of the CAS?

I've no idea but it wouldn't be any harm if the lake that had been there once was reinstated.

Failing that a monster truck arena!:D

Threadhead

There was a lake there?

I'd be all over that monster truck arena either. If you're gonna build a road for HGV's, you might as well go all out.

Bowlardo

is it too much to have a map of exactly what it will look like?

linny

maps wont be up on council site for about another 2 weeks or so

catbear

Threadhead wrote: »

There was a lake there?

I'd be all over that monster truck arena either. If you're gonna build a road for HGV's, you might as well go all out.

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The area was called Roachpond and there was also a stone quarry which was known locally as "the canyon" but it was filled in when it became a city dump. The map from the OSI website is from the early 19th century.
There were more ponds and marshes around the area, Newpark fen being the only remainder after the rest were drained for land reclamation.

Now if we dug out "the canyon" you could have a pretty good dirt bike course!

Threadhead

Apparently the Omniplex on the Gaol Road is to be turned into a smaller, arthouse cinema, run by the same group.

Can't really see that doing too well, unless they get in a decent café/bar.

kikel

Threadhead wrote: »

Apparently the Omniplex on the Gaol Road is to be turned into a smaller, arthouse cinema, run by the same group.

Can't really see that doing too well, unless they get in a decent café/bar.

Nice idea, but agree it could be difficult. But hey, What do I know. I'll leave that to the real business people with the cash.

Dozen Wicked Words

kikel wrote: »

Nice idea, but agree it could be difficult. But hey, What do I know. I'll leave that to the real business people with the cash.

Haven't heard about that plan, might do ok if it was a reasonable price. That idea with regular kids club type films might help as well. Add in the little coffee shop/cafe bar type thing that's been suggested and it would be a great idea.

Rantan

Dozen Wicked Words wrote: »

Haven't heard about that plan, might do ok if it was a reasonable price. That idea with regular kids club type films might help as well. Add in the little coffee shop/cafe bar type thing that's been suggested and it would be a great idea.

if would be great to have a lighthouse or IFI type cinema in KK. They are my favourite places in Dublin. Does KK have the population for that though?

Threadhead

Don't think Kilkenny has the population for it on its own tbh.

If the idea was incorporated into a much needed arts centre for the city, then we'd be in good shape. For a city that promotes itself as a hub of the arts, we're sorely lacking an arts centre. Thurles, Waterford, Portlaoise, Carlow, Wexford and Newbridge all have thriving arts centres which also fulfill the function of arthouse cinemas. Could be the birds and stones combo Kilkenny needs if someone had the foresight to implement it.

catbear

Correct me if I'm wrong but is the old Mayfair ballroom slated as a future arts centre and the butler gallery is planned to move to Evans home?

Threadhead

Butler Gallery is slated to move into Evans Home alright but it's been on the cards for about as long as our new library and there's still no confirmation as to when it might happen.

The old Mayfair site would be an ideal arts centre for Kilkenny but there still hasn't been anything confirmed.

linny

Today was decision day for the new cinema in the old Mart site anyone know what council decided my laptop is on blink so can't check up council website

Spocker

linny wrote: »

Today was decision day for the new cinema in the old Mart site anyone know what council decided my laptop is on blink so can't check up council website

No update on the website yet: http://planning.kilkennycoco.ie/FileRefDetails.aspx?file_number=1576&LASiteID=0

linny

Some great news at last new 10 screen cinema got the go.ahead. Hopefully it won't be appealed and will started this summer

kikel

there are workers on site for the last few weeks. What they are doing I dont k now.

linny

kikel wrote:

there are workers on site for the last few weeks. What they are doing I dont k now.

Thats the new road CAS

road_high

linny wrote: »

Some great news at last new 10 screen cinema got the go.ahead. Hopefully it won't be appealed and will started this summer

Is there just a cinema as part of this ? A cinema will be lost on that site on its own, I was hoping it might just be a part of a mixed use development with shops and office also.

kikel

road_high wrote: »

Is there just a cinema as part of this ? A cinema will be lost on that site on its own, I was hoping it might just be a part of a mixed use development with shops and office also.

Depends on the size of the mixed development. We have plenty of retail centres already. Can't see why we would need another.

linny

Looks like we will have to wait bit longer for our new cinema. It's after been appealed to an bord pleanàla.