Retail Park DevelopmentCarlow town may see the development of a large retail centre plus multiplex cinema, gym and a 25m swimming pool within a few minutes' walk of the town centre if the authorities accept an ambitious planning application.

Thomas Thompson Holdings Ltd lodged the application for a mixed-use development which it believes will be anchored by Dunnes Stores. Aside from the nine-theatre multiplex, gym and pool, the application includes a plan to landscape a public park along the banks of the Burrin River, which would link a large residential area with the town centre.

It would also include a proposed pedestrian bridge connecting the park to the bus station at Hanover Weir.

The possible opening of a Dunnes Stores in the centre of Carlow has been a contentious local issue for some years. The council originally blocked proposals to site a Dunnes in the town centre, causing it to open a site in Graigcullen, on the periphery of Carlow.

The proposed development would be in Carlow Retail Park. The development will provide 450 new jobs, according to the developer.

Thomas Thompson Holdings is a local company and the family has been in business in Carlow through its engineering works for 127 years. "This is the only site in the town which can accommodate Dunnes Stores," said the company's managing directory, Gwynne Thomas.

The proposal includes a retail superstore measuring 7,708sq m (82,968sq ft) to include a convenience supermarket with a net floor area of 2,208sq m (23,767sq ft) and a home stores, textiles and comparison goods area with a net floor area of 2,266sq m (24,391sq ft). The development would provide parking at basement and surface level for 1,061 vehicles.

The nine-theatre multiplex cinema would measure 4,040sq m (43,486sq ft) and a gym, pool and leisure facility measuring 2,062sq m (22,195sq ft).