High street mall

Deisedarren

Notice this planning notice on bord plenala

http://www.pleanala.ie/lists/pa/Kilkenny%20Borough%20Council/index.htm

decided by 16-10-2012

catbear

So they're given up the apartments idea they were pursuing a few years ago.

PaulKK

Curious as to what this "leisure/entertainment centre" will be now.

Anyone got any idea what kind of establishment is planned?

ft9

Sound like an arcade. I wouldn't like the idea of something like that going in there.

Sky King

ft9 wrote: »

Sound like an arcade. I wouldn't like the idea of something like that going in there.

Neither would I.

It's already called The Arcade though isn't it!

catbear

Calm down everyone. It's probably something innocent like a pole dancing studio, or a Hooters outlet.

ft9

From the Kilkenny People back in April.
http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/news/local/plans-resubmitted-for-entertainment-centre-in-high-street-mall-1-3711079

Plans for an entertainment centre in the city’s High Street Mall have been resubmitted to Kilkenny Borough Council.

A planning application was made to the council in February by Melcorpo Commercial Properties Ltd but that application was deemed to be incomplete. The company has now resubmitted its application to the council.

The company is seeking permission to amalgamate units 9-16 in the mall and create a “leisure facility/ entertainment centre” with arcade video games and other activity machines.

The move is being opposed by other tenants in the premises, who want it to return to being a mall.

PaulKK

ft9 wrote: »

Sound like an arcade. I wouldn't like the idea of something like that going in there.

Agreed, particularly since it's right in the middle of high street and a fairly high profile building. There's enough places to gamble as it is.

linny

i was looking at this awhile ago and found out that if it gets the go ahead it will be run by Mr B's Galaxy Leisure Family Entertainment centre, they have a few place's all ready i cant put up a link for some reason, but you can see what they are on youtube,
MR B's - Galaxy Leisure - Family Entertainment Centre

Wimbago

The Kilkenny Meme's FB page will need a 'new Arcade'

road_high

Wouldn't like to see this going into High st. For once I agree with the council. Look at any town that has these in the centre. They definitely attract an undesirable element, no bones about it.
Remember a few yeara back there was a plan to redevelop the Mall and build one large dept store. That was pre the crash, obviously. Would have loved to see that happen.

Captain Havoc

I wouldn't be in favor of a Dr. Quirkey's at all. Even if we are in the middle of a recession, it's still a prime spot.

foxcoverteddy

Are brown envelopes still in circulation?

up for anything

It seems mad to think of putting one in there. Who has the money any more?

theholyghost

Given that Kilkenny is a "medieval city" and a major tourist destination it would be mad to put something as tacky as an amusement arcade in the middle of the main street.

You'd have to ask serious questions of the council if this happens.

All in all Kilkenny the centre of Kilkenny is fairly classy for an Irish town! They should really make good use of the space for a museum or something that adds and doesn't take away from the town. Though I don't think anymore coffee shops are needed.

kenzolo

i'm all for this plan. that arcade has been laying desolate for the good part of 3 to 4 years. its a ghost town walking through there, the only reason i walk through there is for a short cut onto high street.

we dont need any more coffee shops, museums, etc. we have enough of them

foxcoverteddy

Perhaps in another town, the plan might be acceptable, Kilkenny is fortunately not like any other town.
There has to be a very good reason for the shops to have closed, one might guess that rents were too high or the rates.
We really have nothing for tourists to browse around, there are no little shops full of interesting bits and pieces. Here we have an island of traquility away from the main drag, and also undercover in the event of rain.
One might criticise the fact that when it was built they obviously could only afford one escalator, what a laugh?
We have the design centre complex which goes well with the castle, then there is Market cross which is also sadly lacking.
The last thing we need is an amusement arcade, they are rather like telephone kiosks, obsolete.
We do not have a proper market hall with stalls selling all sorts of goodies, yes I know we have a farmers market, if you have the money to pay for overpriced so called organic food, we have Cillin hill.
Now there's a point no car, try getting to Cillin Hill, older people are defina\tely not going to walk there.
What better place the centre of town, a magnet all the other shops would benefit, hopefully.
Out of town experiences, shopping is fine but there are times when something need to be done to rejuvenate the actual centre.

Captain Havoc

The simple reason the shops closed was to make way for a new complex that never got off the ground.

Threadhead

Where in Kilkenny do we have a museum???

Sky King

Do we have anything to display at a museum?

hi5

There used to be a museum in Roth House.

Edit; its still there,

http://rothehouse.com/rothe-house-museum/

Threadhead

Okay, we got a bit of a museum in Rothe House. It definitely doesn't constitute us 'having enough museums'.

What we really need is a hurling museum. There's so much wonderful material to be used there and it would provide a big tourist attraction as well as a fitting local representation of our hurling heritage.

It would also be fantastic if we had a museum as part of the brewery site when it's redeveloped to pay tribute to the brewing history of Kilkenny.

That's all my museum based suggestions though. What we definitely don't need is any more coffee shops. Although I would not be adverse to reopening the Flame upstairs in the Arcade. Great view with your mug of tae.

JaMarcus Hustle

21 replies and still no mention of the possibility of putting another Dunnes Stores in there?

You're slipping, Kilkenny forum.

foxcoverteddy

Been to Lore Maher museum, tulleroan, boring and would not encourage people to visit, now something like natural history, which is beneficial to future generations. Sorry Kilkenny is besotted with hurling, there is a lot more to life, what would you put in such a museum, life size models of players, a few pictures, maybe something for nowlan park, but the centre of town. ugh

Threadhead

I'm fairly sure Kilkenny has enough hurling memorabilia from over the years to justify some kind of showcase. Maybe not in the centre of town, but it would be something that would attract tourists.

The arcade is a prominent space in the heart of town, and it's completely empty. It definitely needs something that can give it a boost and ideally, attract more people to the city centre.

fabbydabby

That place has been a retail black hole for as long as I can remember. Just think of the turnover of different businesses upstairs in the place. Amazing really, given the location.

I would prefer to see twenty empty shops in there for the next twenty years than one gaming arcade full of truant teenagers and proletarian skanks expeditiously depositing their children's allowance into poker machines and coin pushers.

Those places are tacky, vulgar, grotty hell holes which would far surpass any reasonable Kilkennian's common boundaries of taste, and the introduction of such an establishment would blight an architecturally and historically rich urban area, and significantly mar a town centre which otherwise offers a pleasant visual and wholesome cultural experience to visitors - visitors who come here for the medieval experience and upon whose money we are heavily dependent.

Threadhead wrote: »

Although I would not be adverse to reopening the Flame upstairs in the Arcade. Great view with your mug of tae.

Yes, it was perve central alright. Gad be with the days when you could smoke a hape of fags up in B & M and gawk at all the fine young things on high street over your coffee and a kit kat.

Beginning to sound like Jimmy Rhatigan now.

foxcoverteddy

Fabbydabby that is one of the most constructive post's I have read concerning Kilkenny, well said.
Thinking of museums, most of them are old and very boring, we could have a wax works, with hurlers and people of note, a thing on the milk industry in Kilkenny - Avonmore, then a farming part after all we are a dairy area, then high tech area showing what Kilkenny can do, and another art and sculpture area, not for sale but exhibitions of quality painting's etc.
Have the place as a live show, we might even build stocks to put the politicians in so we can throw crap at them.
What about smethwicks, Kettler's the Boot fact6ory and the railways in kilkenny, we have so much to show the world.
The tourists would love it, we could call it the Foxy Centre or similar.
But we would need someone of vision to do this, we might even get Capt Havoc's old bike or other similar relics.

Threadhead

As apt as it is to put an arcade in the Arcade, fabbydabby is right, it's just wrong for the city centre.

If the idea of an arcade had any viability in Kilkenny, then K-Bowl in McDonagh Junction would be packed all week around. But it isn't. Because it's not sustainable.

Couch Potatoette

It'd be a good location for M & S. Or maybe Brown Thomas. There are no high end department stores in Kilkenny even though it's very touristy. Personally I'd love topshop Not enough young adult clothes shops in Kilkenny! Or if we're looking for something apart from retail and something more along the lines of entertainment I'd like a roller rink or a ice skating rink. Don't know if that sort of thing would generate enough business though. Hurling museum is a good idea given the location! What I'd love to see in Kilkenny is Ikea!

Captain Havoc

I don't think Ikea would fit in the mall

It's a prime location, surely someone like M&S could go in there.

foxcoverteddy

What a splendid idea M & S in Kilkenny, perhaps IKEA could go to Loughboy, it would bring some life back to the place, and Tesco in the old mart or out at cillin hill, no need to go to Clonmel or Waterford or Carlow.
We might just make Kilkenny boom again, but no doubt the council will have other idea's.

kk23

they should create a medieval walkabout , god knows they've been touting the town as a the medieval city for years, its an opportunity to come good on the promise. put in a games arcade to hell,,,,liven up the kip a bit!:D

Bowlardo

It's a horrible building.
I always feel like I am got in the 80's when i walk through it.
It's ****e for parking and i'd imagine any deliveries to the place is very difficult.
I can't see any M&S moving in.
To be honest I can't see what they can do with it.

road_high

Demolish and rebuild it. The dept store idea is not a bad one. Or extend the Market Cross.

Threadhead

It's a prime location, surely something halfway decent could be done with it.

It's always had a pure whack of the 80's off it. I remember there used to be a really manky pub in there. Pubs in shopping centres, I don't know how that idea didn't catch on...

Wimbago

That's a blast from the past!! Forgot all about that pub!

catbear

What was that bar called, I've a vague notion it was called the Amber Bar.

Captain Havoc

catbear wrote: »

What was that bar called, I've a vague notion it was called the Amber Bar.

I thought it was the Perch

catbear

Captain Havoc wrote: »

I thought it was the Perch

That does sound familiar. There was an Amber bar too, do you remember where that was?

Mankbag

Captain Havoc wrote: »

I thought it was the Perch

The Perch was upper John Street. Now the World's End or the Four in a Brawl or whatever it's called.

catbear

Mankbag wrote: »

The Perch was upper John Street. Now the World's End or the Four in a Brawl or whatever it's called.

Thanks for that, I was wondering why a pub called the Perch would be downstairs at the back of an arcade.
So ideas what the bar in the arcade was called, was it the Amber bar?

pueblo

Think it had a brief incarnation as a wine/tapas bar run by some Spanish guy from Tenerife....I think,..

catbear

Silverscott

The bar in the arcade was called Mikes bar.
The tapas/wine bar was located in the unit to the left of mikes bar a few years after.

road_high

God Kilkenny was grim in the 80's/early90s. It's really come on so much since those days.

catbear

Yip, it was grim. Thankfully there's at least a coffee culture now.

road_high

Coffee shop planned for High St Mall....I remember there being on up there years ago! Presume this is something a little more upmarket and substantial;
http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/news/local/approval-for-cafe-in-high-street-mall-1-4600377

Threadhead

Thankfully there's something constructive going in there. Walked through it a few weeks ago and it's like something from Dawn Of The Dead.

catbear

I'm delighted to hear that, it's probably one most underutilised spaces in Kilkenny. It's funny how all during the septic tiger nothing happened with it.

foxcoverteddy

where do you think they kept the tiger?

pueblo

An Bord Pleanala have granted permission for the gaming arcade.