CONCERNS have been raised for the future of Enniskillen town centre, with fears the planned new retail park could attract ‘anchor stores’ from the high street.
Speaking after plans for the new Lakelands Retail park were changed, local business man Michael Cadden, pictured below, told the Herald’ this week that “the retail park from its inception was wrong”.
Plans to develop a new cinema and bowling alley at the much-anticipated Lakelands Retail and Leisure Park – expected to cost in the region of £15 million – shifted focus in January with proposals now favouring retail expansion over leisure facilities.
The ongoing development at the former Unipork site originally included proposals for five retail units, a six-screen cinema, a hotel, an indoor play centre, a bowling alley, and two garden centres.
However, a new application has been submitted by the developers seeking to replace leisure facilities with a large Lidl unit.
“The idea of building another big box store is wrong, the planning application in its first incarnation looked great, it was new stores, it was the provision of social space and unholistically the council planning committee decided that was on the balance worth going for,” said Michael.
“The idea of the bowling alley, the cinema and the hotel inward of themselves singularly isn’t the issue but the issue now is there is completely different views for that area, it is going to be dispersal of shops that are in the town centre are now going to be moving out to the Cornagrade Road.”
Michael explained how at that time the plans were passed against a firm rejection from the planners based on the existing planning rules regarding ‘town centre first.’
“The only reason in the planning committees own set of rules that they can overturn the planning authority is based on sound planning rational, I didn’t see that, it was more about the social aspect rather than the planning aspect, the planners were right in what they said, it went against every one of the town centre first rules in the area plan,” he said.
“My question at that time was and still is, what’s the accountability going to be when what the critics of this say is going to happen, happen. We have seen town centre anchor stores now talking about moving.”
Mr Cadden was concerned about the amount of units that are for rent in the town centre already.
“There is no demand for retail space in Enniskillen town centre, they wont be replaced so the jobs that were promised are now simply being dispersed from the town centre to be a big box store.
“That is exactly what the objectors to this scheme said was going to happen.”
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