Waterford people ‘furious’ over Ferrybank Shopping Centre decision as legal case begins

People are ‘furious’ at Waterford City and County Council's decision to take legal action against the long-awaited opening of Ferrybank Shopping Centre, a council meeting has heard.

The issue was raised by Fianna Fáil councillor Eamon Quinlan at the council's November plenary meeting.

Last week, Waterford City and County Council was granted leave to take up a judicial review against Kilkenny County Council’s decision to grant permission for Dunnes Stores to move into the centre.

The development has been largely unoccupied since its construction was completed in 2008.

As a result, the news that Dunnes Stores plans to occupy the building has been widely welcomed by local representatives in Kilkenny.

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However, Waterford City and County Council has raised concerns over the potential impact the opening of the development could have on retail in the city centre.

Cllr Quinlan said that people in Ferrybank are “furious” over the council’s decision and asked whether mediation has been or would be considered.

He stated: “Can I just check with the local authority’s executive that when they made the decision, I presume, as would be required by law, they were obliged to offer the option of mediation as an alternative to taking legal proceedings.

“Did the council consider mediation and if rejected, why? Are they willing to talk to Kilkenny County Council to resolve this issue, rather than continuing an expensive, time consuming High Court case?”

Independent councillor Donal Barry said that he had also received many complaints about the council’s decision to take legal action, describing it as “hard to defend”.

He said the opening of Ferrybank Shopping Centre would “create full and part-time jobs for people of Waterford and south Kilkenny and support growth across the region.”

He added that with the new sustainable transport bridge and improved public transport, people could shop in both Ferrybank and the city centre.

Cllr Barry continued: “I think reviving Ferrybank Shopping Centre would complement rather than compete with the city centre and would draw more visitors. So, again, why fight progress?

“If the council executive truly believes Ferrybank is a threat then surely you should focus on strengthening the city centre and all its offerings.

“I think Ferrybank helps; it’s been vacant too long, [so] leave that open and let’s get on with having the two of them, Waterford and Ferrybank.”

In response to the two councillors, Senior Planner Aisling O’Sullivan explained how a judicial review works and what the council is looking to achieve.

Ms O’Sullivan said: “A judicial review reviews the process of how a decision came to. It doesn’t say the decision is wrong or right, it’s about the process of how the decision is arrived at.

“In the case of Kilkenny, there was no retail impact assessment provided with that application.

“In Waterford, we have standards for our own retail developments. We will always assess the impact of any retail development on the city centre.

“This wasn’t done in the case of this application so the review is so the assessment is actually carried out.”

Ms O’Sullivan added that while no one is saying there should be no shopping in Ferrybank, the council believes the potential impact of the development on the city centre must be considered.

Later in the meeting, independent councillor Joe Kelly also expressed his disappointment at the council’s decision.

He said he “fully supports” Dunnes Stores’ plans to move into the centre and outlined an arising confusion regarding the legal proceedings.

Cllr Kelly stated: “There seems to be confusion in the public that when they hear that the council objected to something, they think that it’s the council, as in us, the elected members.

“I pointed it out and I’ll say it again - it’s the management that makes these decisions, not councillors.

“I can’t speak for every councillor but I welcome the opening of the Ferrybank Shopping Centre whenever that happens - the sooner the better.”

“I certainly distance myself from the management decision,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sean McKeown, CEO of Waterford City and County Council, defended the local authority’s decision to launch legal proceedings.

Mr McKeown commented: “I suppose we were left with no option, unfortunately. It’s not something we do likely in terms of taking judicial reviews against a neighbouring local authority.

“I don’t think it’s ever been done anywhere else nationally. So it doesn’t arise often and not something we did willy nilly.”

He went on to say that the council submitted an objection to the planning application, but he believes it was ignored.

He continued: “The only option we had in these circumstances is to take a judicial review.

“We believe a retail impact assessment should’ve been undertaken, as per the county development plan of Kilkenny requires such developments to do. So it’ll be up to the court to decide.”

Mr McKeown outlined that Kilkenny County Council have until the end of next week to submit their case in defence of the decision.

“I believe we’ve done the right thing for Waterford in this case,” he concluded.

In June, Dunnes Stores sought planning permission to move into the vacant shopping centre. These plans were approved by Kilkenny County Council in August.

Waterford City and County Council subsequently lodged an appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála against this decision.

However, the appeal was deemed invalid, due to a full application not being submitted in time. As a result, the council decided to take legal action.