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Kill Retail Outlet Village stories
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Statement from Kill retail village promoters
KILL, JANUARY 18, 1998: The major road improvements which have been agreed with Kildare County Council as part of the proposal to develop the Kildare Tourist Outlet Village at Kill, will help to greatly reduce the number of serious accidents and fatalities on one of the most notorious accident blackspots in the country.
Irish International Tourist Outlets Limited (IITO) today confirmed that, as part of its recent discussions with Kildare County Council, it had agreed to assist in a number of major road safety improvement measures on the stretch of roadway adjacent to the proposed site beside Goffs.
This area of roadway has been the scene of several very serious accidents and a number of fatalities in recent years. The Gardai in the Naas region have told IITO that they welcome the road safety initiative and recognise the benefits which it will bring to the area.
IITO has now commenced the process of informing both the Council members and the general public of the full details of the project. This is the first time that IITO has engaged in this information process following the recent decision by County Manager, Mr. Niall Bradley, to put the matter forward for further consideration by the elected representatives of the Council.
The Company will be issuing a number of public information statements over the coming weeks to further explain the many benefits of the project. These include the fact that the Kildare Tourist Outlet Village will create 400 permanent and local jobs and will bring an additional 1.3m visitors into the area, with an estimated minimum of £8 million pouring into the coffers of the local economy as a result.
IITO is extremely pleased with the support amongst the members of the local community which reflects the findings of the one and only independent survey conducted on this subject.
This survey found that over 93% of residents in the community believed the Kildare Tourist Outlet village was good for Co. Kildare and should be developed for the overall benefit of the community.
The several benefits which will result for Naas, Kill and the entire business community of Co. Kildare were reiterated again at a meeting between IITO and the Naas Chamber of Commerce this week.
From the very outset, when it first announced plans for the development of the Kildare Tourist Outlet Village, IITO has made it clear that it wants to work closely with the local business community to ensure that the maximum possible commercial benefit will be achieved for the local area. This is in keeping with the principle of co-operation which the Company has operated in all of its other developments around the world.
IITO again reiterated at the meeting with the Chamber of Commerce that allegations claiming that the outlet village would damage trade in Naas were completely unfounded. This is reflected in the retail impact assessment study which is on the public record at the offices of Kildare County Council, and which was considered by the Kildare County manager before his decision to put the proposal forward for consideration by Council members.
IITO again reiterated to Chamber members that it will:
Become and remain actively involved in community issues in Kill and Naas
Support and encourage links between the Tourist Outlet Village and retail businesses, bars, restaurants and hotels in the area
Provide display cases in the outlet village for promoting local town centre shops
Work actively with the Chamber of Commerce to promote visits to Naas, Kill and surrounding areas as part of our international marketing
Work with tour operators to ensure coach tours, international visitors such as the Icelandic shoppers and more domestic visitors visit Naas and Kill and stop longer in County Kildare
Assist the Chamber of Commerce in promoting Kill and Naas through town centre promotion campaigns
Offer training in retailing skills to local people.
Speaking this week, Mr. Malcolm Hockaday, Project Director on behalf of IITO, reiterated that the Kildare Tourist Outlet Village will not have a supermarket nor any convenience stores such as newsagents, bars, pharmacies, dry cleaners, etc. It will actively promote the usage of these facilities in the nearby local area.He added: "Any suggestion that this development will harm local trade is completely without foundation. The commitments which we have made to the local business community clearly illustrate that we want to work in co-operation with local businesses, not in competition with them. That is the only way to ensure that the entire community including ourselves benefits to the maximum possible extent from the development.
"We are getting very strong support from the general public for our proposal, and we have also been very pleased with the support we have received from tourist interests in the county and a variety of local groups, especially from the nearby Kill village area.
"We are urging local people and local business owners to realise at this stage that this development could make an enormously positive difference to their community and to support its adoption at County Council level", concluded Mr. Hockaday.
'Warm welcome' for retail village planning move
CLANE, JANUARY 5, 1998: County Kildare Failte has warmly welcomed Kildare county manager Niall Bradley's decision to recommend approval of a material contravention of the county development plan in relation to the proposed Kildare Tourist Outlet Village at Kill. Acting chairman Tom Malone (pictured left) said the move offers the county a 'significant lever' in encouraging an increase of visitor numbers, which would impact on the economic wellbeing of tourism in the county and on the general commercial activity in Kildare.
"The tourism trade are delighted with the proposed development as it will have significant positive impact on existing and planned products which will in turn add to the potential of local shops, services in the catchment area," Mr Malone said. "County Kildare Fáilte in its action plan published June 1995 suggested that a flagship proposal such as this development was one of the ways forward. Given that the Ambassador Hotel Kill was the venue where the plan was launched and that in the intervening period Kill has had to endure the waste disposal site at Arthurstown this proposed project may well go some way to address the imbalances in Kildare's tidiest village."
The promoters, Irish Retail Outlets Limited, suggest that some 400 jobs will be created as a result of the development. This will be welcome news for Kill and its environs, Mr Malone said.
Kill retail project gets go-ahead for material contravention process
KILL, DECEMBER 31, 1998: Kildare County Council has decided to initiate the material contravention process in relation to the proposed £20 million Tourist Outlet Village beside Goffs at Kill. This follows a 'very detailed' examination by council staff of the application from Irish Retail Outlets Ltd for the development, and after 'comprehensive discussions' between the council and the applicants and their advisers. County manager Niall Bradley is of the view that the specific nature and potential significance of the development is such as to warrant initiation of the material contravention procedure. This will afford members of the council an opportunity of considering whether or not planning permission should be granted, subject to appropriate conditions. A public notice to this effect will be issued shortly.
The county manager has publicly supported the concept in the past, pending the resolution of a number of issues, including traffic matters. But when the project was first mooted in 1997, a campaign against it was launched by a significant number of traders in Naas. Traders in Bicester in England, however, where there is a similar operation, said emphatically that - though they had themselves initially been against the retail village there - no detrimental effect had been experienced in their businesses. "We now live side by side with the retail outlet village," a typical shopowner said, "and in fact it has been good for business here."
A recent KNN survey of local people and community leaders in Kill showed overwhelming local support for the project, mainly on the grounds that it would provide much-needed employment opportunity - up to 500 jobs have been promised by the promoters.
Kill residents come out strongly in support of Retail Village project
KILL, DECEMBER 18, 1998: by Trish Whelan and Brian Byrne. On the eve of a crucial decision on the proposed £20 million Retail Outlet Village at Kill, local community leaders and townspeople have strongly expressed their support for the project, which has been strongly opposed by Naas traders. Local Kildare Failte representative Liam Kelly (pictured left) said that it would be of great benefit not only to Kill, but to Naas, Newbridge and surrounds. "The real benefits will come for school leavers," he said, "with the project making hundreds of jobs available where none are now. Women taking the opportunity of going back to work will also have an advantage." He wondered 'what Naas traders are blowing their coals over' as he failed to see how it could affect them in any way. "As it is, Naas is under pressure with crowds and no car parking." He said he would love to know where the objections were coming from: "In my travels around the county on behalf of Kildare Failte, people are very positive about this ... so if there's a minority out there trying to dig out a bit of dirt, I don't see it working."
Joan Kerr (below left) , chairperson of Kill Tidy Towns, said the people of Kill were very anxious to have the project. "If people come to a shopping area in Kill, they're going to go on to Naas if they don't like what they see here." She said a lot of schoolchildren coming out next year are not likely to get a job in the area, but could if this project was on their doorstep.
Local councillor Anthony Lawlor (below right) says fellow councillors in the Naas area appear to be 'under severe pressure from the traders of the town'. "When supermarkets in Naas affected all the small shops in the villages around , there wasn't much uproar from those councillors then," he said. "Maybe this is our chance now in Kill to stand up. Hopefully we will be the David that slays the big villian Goliath in Naas."
Meanwhile, when villagers were questioned about their feelings for the project, they were almost unanimously in favour, citing the possibility of local employment in many cases. KNN understands that county manager Niall Bradley is expected to make a decision on the planning application today. Following that it will be discussed by local area councillors, and then the final decision hinges on a two-thirds majority of the full council.
RealAudio : Liam Kelly, Joan Kerr and Anthony Lawlor.
