Ikea plans to open Belfast store by end of 2006

Swedish furniture retailer Ikea expects to open in first store on the island of Ireland in Belfast by the end of the year.

Another store in Ballymun, north Dublin, will follow, subject to planning permission.

The North store, to be located near Belfast's airport, will measure 25,800 square metres and will employ 400 people. Ikea intends to open the shop in late December.

"We are obviously anxious to be open for trading in both locations in the shortest possible timeframe, but we respect the planning process, and this will guide our timing" said Theresa Daly, project manager for the Dublin and Belfast stores.

Ikea intends to submit its proposals to Fingal County Council for the Ballymun store in the next two weeks. The usual time frame for deliberation of proposals is eight weeks followed by a public consultation process of five weeks.

Subject to planning permission, the Dublin store will employ 500 people.

Proposals for the Belfast store will soon be sent to the North's planning service where Ikea expects a quicker decision.

Ms Daly told ireland.comthat Belfast is "very keen" to have an Ikea store and that the initial plans have been well received by local businesses and political leaders.

Construction of both sites will be completed in seven to eight months following the granting of planning permission.

Ikea hopes that up to 50 per cent of its employees will come from the local areas, and the company will work with Fás, Ballymun Regeneration Limited and the community partnerships.

The location of the Dublin shop is proposed to be close to the Ballymun-M50 Interchange, and local road access will be improved. There are plans to realign and upgrade St Margaret's Road, the main access road to the shop.

Planned additional changes that have been included in the Local Area Plan adopted by Fingal County Council include the upgrade of the M50 in the area with a dedicated junction for the development lands surrounding Ballymun.

Ms Daly said great efforts have been taken to avoid further congestion of the M50.

"Forty per cent of our customers will arrive at weekends, when the great majority of workplaces are closed. In addition, our stores do not open until 10am when morning rush hour is passed, and we remain open until 10pm on weekdays so that customers can avoid the evening rush hour," said Ms Daly.

The Dublin store will cover 30,500 square metres over two floors, and will have 1,500 car spaces.

Ikea does not carry any Irish-made furniture as there are no Irish-based manufacturers operating on the scale to fulfil Ikea's purchasing orders for its network of 220 stores in 33 countries.