Aerial picture showing the Carrigtwohill area with the planned retail outlet village marked in red.

Cork to get its own Kildare Village-style outlet centre

EAST Cork is set to be the home of a shopping outlet centre similar to Kildare Village after a British company submitted plans to Cork County Council.

The retail village is to be built at Killacloyne, Carrigtwohill, just off the Fota Junction on the N25 in East Cork.

The backers say the development is predicted to create 850 jobs but requires a variation to the County Development Plan in order to get the go-ahead.

The plans have been lodged by Rioja Estates, a UK based Designer Outlet Village retail specialist, who say the facility would be an excellent complement to the local towns and Cork City, drawing 220,000 additional tourists to the region.

Kildare Village

The company has made a formal submission to the Cork County Council to vary the Development Plan based on four years of research.

If approved, they said construction would take 24 months to complete and it is possible that the Cork Tourist Outlet Village could be open for business by March 2024.

The company said the retail outlet would attract 220,000 additional visitors to the region.

Rioja Estates has developed or advised on 13 outlets to date.

Managing Director Giles Membrey said their research has shown that there is room for one more outlet village in Ireland.

“A detailed search for potential sites throughout Ireland was undertaken, where it became clear that Cork was the preferred setting.”

Mr Membrey added: “We are an off-peak trader as we open at 10am and close at 8pm, and therefore we have no impact on any rush hour traffic.”

Former Cork County Manager Martin Riordan is acting as an advisor on the project. “It is important that Cork secures this investment opportunity," he said.

"The plan led approach proposed by the Council to guide and attract this type of development to the Cork region is to be welcomed. I believe that without a proper planning framework, this type of development will not be secured for Cork.”