Retail Warehousing: The giant British DIY chain Home Base is to anchor a new retail warehousing park on the Donore Road in Drogheda which is due to open for business early next year.
The park will be the first purpose-built facility of its kind in the Co Louth town and will cost up to €10 million to develop, according to the promoters, local businessmen Phil Dillon, Pat Fallon and Seamus Donegan.
The developers report strong interest from a mixture of national and overseas traders specialising in carpets, white goods, furniture and related products. The promoters say the park should stop the slippage of investment and business to other centres which have retail warehousing.
Meath Co Council, the planning authority for much of the land running right up to the town of Drogheda, has granted permission for the park, which will be developed in three phases.
Top DIY trader B & Q is also understood to be looking for a suitable location in Drogheda but it is by no means certain that it will opt for the Donore Road site. Virtually every company developing large retail warehousing facilities in Ireland is invariably pitching its marketing effort at B & Q because of its huge pulling power which guarantees the success of any park.
Home Base will trade out of a gross floor area of 5,100 sq m (54,895 sq ft) apart from a garden centre. Four other single-storey units beside it are likely to be in keen demand. The first phase of the park will also include a fast food restaurant and a two-storey car showroom.
