Untitled - Cork City Council

Cork Strategic Retail Study
6.48 Kinsale is a tourist town and serves a limited catchment. There are several
comparison and convenience developments already committed and these are likely to
meet requirements in the town.
County Towns
6.49 Future needs should be allocated to reflect the strategic regional urban hierarchy and
population targets. The allocations for retail floorspace should be town catchment
specific to reflect proposed urbanisation. Peripheral towns needs more self sufficiency
to serve their own catchments.
6.50 The NSS provides for increased urbanisation of the population and achievement of
critical mass in large multi faceted town centres. It is proposed that the retail hierarchy
shall reflect the dynamics of the urban structure resulting from strategy and urban
growth. In this context Cork City is at the top of the hierarchy as the regional centre for
the south of the Country.
6.51 There are a number of relatively self sufficient towns in North and West Cork. They are
located away from the influence of Cork City and its metropolitan area. They have well
defined catchments and are centres for convenience and comparison retail
development serving extensive rural areas and smaller towns. In the retail hierarchy
the County Towns of Charleville, Mitchelstown, Skibbereen, Kanturk and Clonakility
have been designated with the role of expansion towns, which require headroom for
expansion if they are to continue to cater for the needs of their catchment area.
6.52 These are towns that can accommodate more growth than would be expected for such
a centre in rural County Cork, but without growth, could suffer from severe leakage to
other towns outside the county. Although these towns will experience lower population
growth than other areas of the County they should be the principal locations for both
convenience and comparison retail development in the rural areas of the County.
6.53 Clonakilty and Skibereen are towns that need expanded retail capacity to overcome
potential isolation from higher order markets and a tendency to leakage to competitive
centres outside the County. Bantry and Kanturk are a small urban centres serving a
large rural hinterland, that require the provision of adequate retail facilities. There is
potential for expansion of retail facilities in both towns. Bantry specialises in marine
related industry and services and tourism functions, with an attractive setting and town
centre. There is potential for small scale redevelopment opportunities in the attractive
town centre, subject to land assembly.
6.54 Millstreet, Newmarket, Dunmanway, Castletownbere and Schull are small towns that
will continue to operate as local service centres, with small scale redevelopment and
public realm improvements where appropriate.
Rural Retailing
6.55 Outside the network of centres, local service centres in rural areas are an essential
part of the rural life and a focus for community activity and contact in a dispersed
settlement pattern. Wherever possible, where there is interest in providing small scale
retail provision in a rural settlement, this should be encouraged.
Phasing
6.56 Experience over the last 15 years shows that it takes more time to plan and implement
City centre retail development than suburban development or extensions to suburban
district centres. Consequently, whilst we show scope for additional suburban retail
development, recognising much of the additional development is likely to take place as
extensions to existing centres which would help create more recognisably fully
functioning urban centres, it is necessary to consider the implications of these
extensions coming forward prior to the next phase of City centre development.
6.57 There is a potential scenario in which the suburban expansions might be implemented
in the relative short term, prior to any City centre development and then there might be
Roger Tym & Partners with Simon Clear & Associates
March 2008 48