The businessman who stands to make several million from the rezoning of his 47-acre farm in Dunleer, Co Louth, for a "tourist retail outlet village" has strongly defended the proposed development.
Mr Donal Kinsella, a leading member of Fianna Fáil in the county, said he could have developed the land for housing "but I wouldn't cover it with brown roofs. I'm a son of the village and want to do something positive".
Speaking to The Irish Times yesterday, he said his site on the outskirts of Dunleer had been identified by BAA-McArthur Glenn, one of the biggest developers of retail outlet centres in Europe, as the most suitable for such a scheme.
"It's a perfect place for development because Dunleer is so close to the M1 motorway.
"In fact, it's probably the best site in the country for this particular enterprise because there would be three million people within a 90-minute drive."
Mr Kinsella said Dublin was "only 40 minutes away" and the catchment area would also include Belfast and its environs. As a result, it would have a much better chance of success than the retail outlet facility in Rathdowney, Co Laois.
However, though Louth's planners favoured Dundalk, a planning application for a site in its vicinity failed, leading the developers to sue the county council for €30 million.
"They won in the High Court, but failed on appeal," he said.
According to Mr Kinsella, there is no conflict between his plan and the retail strategy for Co Louth, adopted by the council last year.
It made provision for a retail outlet village somewhere in the county, without specifying a location. "What we're proposing doesn't contravene the retail strategy or the county development plan," he said. "It would create jobs in a service industry, so that people wouldn't have to travel to Dublin for work, and give more vitality to Dunleer."
Mr Kinsella said the rezoning of his farm was not contentious. It had been carried by 18 votes to one, with the support of all parties - not just Fianna Fáil, but also Fine Gael, Labour, Sinn Féin and independent councillors.
"So it's unfair to say, as The Irish Times did, that it happened becaiuse I have 'friends in high places'. You should have checked your facts," Last week, however, several attempts to contact Mr Kinsella were unsuccessful.
He said the "contrariness" in Dunleer over the local area plan adopted by the county council last Monday had nothing to to do with him. It was about plans for new housing on Tran road, which involved another developer, Mr Aidan Kinsella (no relation). "As dogs bark, developers build houses," he declared. As for reports that his own land could now be up to €9 million, he said these were "wild estimates".
The project also involved "a lot more risk, but for greater benefits in the end".
