Wilton Shopping Centre, as it is now.

An Bórd Pleanála has approved plans for a massive €100m redevelopment of one of Ireland’s first suburban shopping centres.

The board granted permission for the Wilton Shopping Centre project in Cork for a period of 10 years and imposed 22 conditions on consent.

One of the conditions requires the construction of an internal vehicular route between the proposed multi-storey car park and the existing Tesco entrance which it said should be developed and operational prior to the operation of the multi-storey car park.

Another condition requires the omission of a proposed surface car park to the north and north-west of Wilton Library and the creation of a public plaza at this location.

Cork City Council granted planning for the project, which includes the partial demolition of the existing shopping centre, including the Penneys anchor store, in August 2018.

The decision was appealed by Wilton Road Residents Association and others.

But in its decision distributed this morning, the board said it is considered that the environmental impact assessment report on the project identified and described adequately the effects of the proposed development on the environment.

The board said it agreed with the inspector’s report and that it was satisfied that the main significant effects of the proposed development would be mitigated through a series of measures.

CGI Visualisation images of the front of the Wilton Development, positioned from the CUH entrance. Images G-Net 3D

The board also said the project would make a positive contribution to the “urban character of the area”.

It said that subject to compliance with the conditions, the proposed development would “constitute an appropriate form of development” and would not be contrary to the retail policy in the new city development plan and would be acceptable in terms of pedestrian and traffic safety and convenience

The proposed development includes the construction of an extension to the existing shopping centre ranging in height from two to seven storeys, the development of cafe and restaurant uses over three floors of the extension, to include a 14-screen cinema, a 190-bed hotel, a multi-storey car park over six levels to provide 874 spaces, 227 bike parking spaces, 70 motorbike parking spaces and a new vehicular entrance from Sarsfield Rd.