Wilton shopping centre redevelopment gets green light from An Bórd Pleanála

Plans for a €100m redevelopment of the Wilton shopping centre have been approved by An Bórd Pleanála.

The board’s decision comes after the Wilton Road Residents Association and others appealed the planning application that was given the green light by Cork City Council in August 2018.

An environmental impact assessment was carried out in recent months and it was deemed the effects of the project would be mitigated through a number of measures, which the board agreed with.

Issuing its decision this morning, An Bórd Pleanála said the project would make a positive contribution to the area.

The project will feature new buildings reaching seven storeys in height, a 190-bedroom hotel, 14-screen cinema and 4,400 sqm of office space.

The plans, which also include an 874-space multi-level carpark among other additional parking provisions, were submitted in February last year by Montlake QIAF Platform IC — York Property Fund II.

The proposal is to build a major extension to the existing shopping centre, involving the demolition of the Penneys anchor store at one end and extending the footprint into the car park near the Wilton roundabout.

This will accommodate a replacement Penneys store and another 1,300 square metres for retail space by new occupants.

The shopping centre currently boasts a footfall of 5.5 million per annum with a net operating income (NOI) of around €5.54m.

Constructed in 1979, it was extended in the early 2000s and includes 11,277 sq m of retail space, excluding the Tesco store and stands on a site of around 11 acres.

The current car park boasts more than 1,000 spaces.