Greystones shopping centre plan appealed by rival developersA bid by developers Seán Dunne and Seán Mulryan to build a district shopping centre, offices, 260 residential units, a primary school and Garda station at Charlesland in Greystones, Co Wicklow has been challenged by Pizarro Development Ltd the company behind a rival €2 billion Bray town centre.

Pizarro is one of three parties to appeal a decision to grant permission for the development which includes a shopping centre comparable in size to Liffey Valley. Pizarro is a consortium made up of developer Paddy Kelly and his family; Alanis, controlled by the McCormack family; the Flynn family; Durkan New Homes; Pierse Construction; and the Newlyn Group.

Another appellant is the local Super Valu in Greystones which says the proposal for an out-of-town regional shopping centre would "decimate the existing town centre of Greystones" and have a detrimental effect on Kilcoole, Newtownmountkennedy and, because of its scale, Bray, Wicklow and Arklow.

Council rejects large centre planned for Balbriggan

Millbank Developments has been refused planning permission by Fingal County Council to build a mixed-use urban development on a site of 2.2 acres beside Mill Walk in Balbriggan, Co Dublin.

The proposal was for a 26,778sq m (288,236sq ft) building ranging from three to 10 storeys with 41 retail units arranged around an internal mall on a lower and upper ground floor level with a conical roof over an atrium.

This would have included offices and a medical centre spread over three floors and 49 residential units. The realignment and upgrading of the River Bracken and the provision of a new riverside walkway are also part of the proposal.

The local authority gave eight reasons for refusing the application, including that by reason of its scale, height and form "as a single mammoth building does not integrate with the existing urban pattern and is inappropriate for this location in the centre of this historic town".