GREAT EXCITEMENT AS MARSHES CENTRE OPENS ITS DOORS
CROWDS LINE UP TO GET FIRST LOOK AT €150 MILLION SHOPPING DEVELOPMENT ON RAMPARTS
November 2005
There is a palpable air of excitement as crowds await the opening of the new Marshes shopping centre.
Chairman of Dundalk town council Martin Bellew acknowledges the queues of people waiting patiently to get a first glimpse of the development.
He recalls that when the concept was first mooted in 1998 the possibility of a state-of-the-art shopping centre was much talked about on the streets of the town.
‘ Today, Dundalk is going to experience another vote of confidence in its future development as a top-class location, and its status as the gateway to the north-east region by an investment of over €150 million by Marshes Shopping Centre Ltd.
‘ This shopping centre will create a major new employment opportunity with upwards of 1000 jobs established to operate the facility,’ the chairman continues.
Building work started on a thirty-acre site in May 2004, with the first steelwork erected the following October.
The design and layout had continually evolved and was refined since the original planning application in June, 2002 to meet the changing trends in market demands, and the needs of the individual retailers.
‘I am sure you will agree the end result is a unique shopping experience which sets a very high standard. It’s plain to see that the developer has used quality materials and paid great attention to detail to create a traditional streetscape which mirrors the best buildings and architecture of the town centre.’
Cllr Bellew believes that with more than 365,000 sg ft of retail floor space, 1,000 car-parking spaces and in excess of 30 units the Marshes will improve, strengthen and expand the town centre’s overall retail offer ‘ to help stem the leakage of custom and capital to other towns’.
The chairman points out that the council has sought tenders for improvement works to nearby Ramparts Road and River Lane.
The opening of the Marshes means that Dundalk now has the second largest Dunnes Stores in the country, alongside Penneys, New Look, A Wear, Virgin and Morgan.
Local tenants include Kate Lavery - Heaven, Keith Short - McArdle Meats, Stephen and Rory Burns - Diamonds Jewellers and Carrolls with Halllmark Cards.
Centre manager Harry Traynor acknowledges the effort of all those to ensure that the Marshes opens as planned on 3 November.
‘I don’t think there is any doubt Dundalk can truly compete in all retail circles,’ he says.
The reaction of shoppers, in the main, is positive.
There is a sense of amazement at such a development in the town centre, with a view that people won’t have to go to Dublin to access a full range of shops.
A build-up of traffic on surrounding roads is noted, and there is some disappointment that all the shops are not open, and that customers have to pay for parking.
Meanwhile, popstar and TV presenter Myleene Klass is busy meeting fans and signing autographs in the Virgin Megastore.