current

Final Day for Sligo Town Centre Development

The long-awaited €80m retail development in Sligo will have the final nail driven into its coffin today as Treasury Holdings is liquidated. The hopes of 500 long-term jobs in the Sligo project also finally fade away.

Hopes were raised last year when retail giant Debenhams signed a lease contract to become the anchor tenant in the Sligo Town Centre.

It had been expected, and confirmed at Sligo Borough Council meetings that the entire centre would be open and trading by Christmas 2013.

Treasury Holdings had confirmed that 350 people would be employed during the construction of the centre, with Debenhams alone employing up to 120 people in its store on completion.

The developers claimed that 500 direct and indirect jobs would have been created with the opening of the 46,000sq ft shopping centre is up and running.

Other stores already in Sligo, including Tesco, Penneys and Dunnes Stores, had also indicated their intention of moving into the new development.

Despite assurances from Treasury Holdings personnel and from their subsidiary company, Callside Developments this year to the Borough Council many councillors remained sceptical of the development which has been the subject of prolonged debate for decades.

The Belgian lender, KBC bank, owed €70m, finally lost patience and successfully applied to have Treasury Holdings liquidated and so  the property empire built up by Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett will collapse today following the pair's decision to abandon any efforts to save the business.

However the collapse will trigger questions regarding the ownership of the properties, including the Wine Street Carpark, in Sligo committed to the development scheme.

Former Mayor of Sligo, Matt Lyons last March said, "To say this is one sorry mess, that's a complete understatement. " He predicted "a whole legal mess coming down the road." Time had caught up with Treasury, who had been given the time and energy of staff and of property owners, he said.

Further confusion was highlighted at a Borough Council meeting last month when the Acting Director of Services, Paula Gallagher told members, ''It will move us to a new position,'' she predicted on the possible collapse of Treasury Holdings.

''Sligo Borough Council, she said, had ''worked very hard to protect the interests of Sligo Borough Council.''

Cllr Declan Bree whether the Council had beneficial ownership of the car park.

Ms Gallagher said the Council had served Compulsory Purchase Orders on property in the car park, adding: ''and what property we have is still in our ownership.''

Always be first with Sligo news - Never miss a story - Join us on Facebook