Shopping Centre held its first Retail Destinations Forum in Dundrum, Dublin last month. Roger Hobkinson from Locum Consulting discussed experience retail with the cream of Ireland’s retail and shopping centre industry

Arnotts has reworked its Henry Street project that aims to provide the historic Dublin department store with new premises alongside a new city centre retail mall. A decision on its latest planning application is expected before the end of the year, but the new project sees the 315,000-sq ft anchor street relocated to a standalone building at the junction of Abbey Street and Liffey Street, . This important change clears the way for a new street that will lead right through the site from O'Connell Street to Liffey Street, where it will emerge directly opposite Marks & Spencer.

Marks & Spencer has given its seal of approval to Chartered Land's plans to create a massive retail destination at Swords Pavilions in North Dublin, by inking a deal that will create its biggest store in Ireland at 14,000 sq m.

While few, if any, retail markets across the globe have escaped the recession unscathed, the Irish retail market remains particularly fragile. The latest data from the Central Statistics Office shows that Ireland’s annual retail sales fell by 9 per cent in the year to August 2009. But according to a bi-monthly research report provided by CBRE, things are continuing to move tentatively forward.

Treasury Holdings, through its Real Estate Opportunities vehicle, has secured full planning permission for the €800m (£700 m) regeneration of Ballymun Town Centre in north Dublin close to the airport.