Car park spaces will be first phase of Kildare shopping centre development

The opening up of car park spaces will be the next phase in the redevelopment of the Naas Shopping Centre - now known as Naas Plaza.

A Naas Municipal District committee meeting heard that this will follow the reopening of the Forge Inn in March.

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The failure to open the centre “continues to impact the area negatively”, Cllr Bill Clear told the meeting and he asked if KCC has any information about progress towards an opening.

He has asked "specifically", if the council has requested that the owners either reopen or demolish the property. He said the Tidy Towns adjudicators had referred to the premises on three occasions and the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey had referenced it twice.

“It looks fine at the front, it’s derelict at the back,” he said, adding “incremental improvements are not good enough.”

Referring to the future of the building, he said plans and timelines are needed.

KCC official Eoghan Ryan said that while the shopping centre has remained incomplete for 15 years, the current owner has had possession for less than five years. 

“The council periodically engages with the new owners to see how the project is progressing. It would not make sense to demolish the structures without clear plans for a redevelopment proposal and a clear cost-benefit analysis.”

He also pointed to “incremental improvements” which have taken place such as  the completion of the plaza. He added that the owners have engaged  with two property agents with a view to securing retail anchor tenants.

He said the centre is a challenging project which is being “approached cautiously.”

Mr Ryan also said there is a major shift towards online shopping and he speculated that the centre will eventually accommodate “a mix of uses rather than just retail."

Cllr Seamie Moore said some of the criticism of the centre “won’t make good reading” and Cllr Anne Breen said KCC should help to try and find an anchor tenant.

Cllr Clear conceded that demolition is a “last resort.” 

But he said parking spaces should be explored, adding that the car park at Naas Hospital is full.