Warm welcome in Kells for Backlands project go-ahead

The granting of planning permission for the €125 million Kells Backlands Project has received a warm welcome in the town. The green light for the massive plan to develop a new town square, major shopping centre, housing, creche and library in the centre of the town was granted recently, but with 82 conditions attached. A spokesperson for the developers, Kells Development Company, said they were currently reviewing the conditions attached to the permission and wouldn"t comment until that review was carried out. However, the Mayor of Kells, Cllr Brian Curran, expressed delight at the decision and said that, if the project went ahead, up to 350 construction jobs and 400 permanent positions would be created. He predicted that, with the development, Kells would become a major commercial centre in north Leinster and the development would see a huge increase in footfall in the town. He added that Kells Town Council wanted this development to happen and he was positive it would go ahead. Kells and District Chamber of Commerce congratulated the Kells Development Company on its successful planning application. 'We have always supported the development and would be delighted to see the project progress to the next stage. The potential of 350 jobs during construction stage and a further 400 permanent positions on the opening of the centre would be a welcome boost to the local economy,' said Chamber president, Jess Olohan. 'The Chamber recognises that we are in tough economic times, but believe that these things are cyclical and we hope that the Backlands project will be completed and open for business when the economy emerges from the present difficult situation,' she said. Cllr Bryan Reilly said he, too, was delighted the project had passed the planning stage and it was important that it went ahead, sooner rather than later. 'When it is completed it will complement the existing town and it will bring a lot of money into the economy of Kells during construction and when it is complete.' Cllr Reilly said the construction would take a couple of years and, by then, the economy should be 'on the up". Cllr Tommy Grimes also expressed his delight at the decision and promised that the councillors and officials would give every assistance they could to the project which be great for business in Kells. He said that if anyone could get this project off the group, it was the people behind the current proposals. Cllr Oliver Sweeney said if the project went ahead, it would be a huge benefit to the town and he was confident it would proceed. 'People have invested so much money in this and I believe they wouldn"t have done so unless they were going to go ahead. I know a lot of projects have gone on hold, but I feel very confident about this in the medium term,' he said. Cllr Conor Ferguson said he hoped the developers would be confident enough to start the development in the current climate. 'Councillors will give whatever help they can and it would be great if it could start as soon as possible,' he said.