Green Party councillors have questioned the recent announcement by Ballymore Homes, developers of the proposed Florentine Centre on Bray Main St, which they are to “amalgamate” with the developers of the Golf Club lands in order to develop a “complementary retail strategy”.

Councillors on Bray Town Council received a letter by registered post from Ballymore Homes, announcing their offer to the investors in Pizarro to amalgamate the Florentine and Pizarro developments, with the Florentine Centre as Phase 1 of the combined development.

Green Party councillor, Deirdre de Burca, said she was not surprised by the news. “There have been rumours circulating for some time now that plans were being jointly developed by Ballymore and Pizarro” says de Burca. “While there is nothing wrong with this, the real question to be asked is whether this amalgamation will be in the best interests of the town of Bray”.

De Burca says that the priority for the town is that the derelict Florentine site on the Main St belonging to Ballymore Homes is developed as soon as possible for mixed- use development including retail and car-parking. She has expressed her concern that Ballymore may use this “amalgamation” with Pizarro to escape from having to provide retail development on Bray Main St. “I am afraid that Ballymore Homes - which have had problems trying to attract an anchor retail tenant for the Florentine Centre - may try to concentrate on residential development on this Main Street site instead” says de Burca.

“Reading between the lines of Ballymore’s letter to councillors, they appear to be suggesting that that the retail planning permission received by Pizarro developments was well in excess of the Bray Development Plan strategy” she says. “If they amalgamate with Pizarro, they can then argue that there is sufficient retail development on the Golf Club lands and that the Florentine Centre should largely be for lucrative high-rise apartments. This would be totally unacceptable to the Green Party. We want to see the town centre car-parking facilities and the retail development on the Florentine site that was promised by Ballymore Homes 11 years ago when Bray Town Council gave them valuable land off the Main St for next to nothing”.