The new Town Centre in Dundrum appears to be on its way to being just that– a town centre. But of which town?

According to some shopkeepers in the old Dundrum shopping centre, the new building has eclipsed the real centre of Dundrum village and has left many locals feeling used.

Both the infrastructural and emotional impact on some local shopkeepers and residents has been extreme, with parking and traffic problems, the loss of old social hubs and the lack of new shops that carry real day-to-day necessities at the Town Centre cited as areas of concern.

“From what I gather from the people around here, they feel they have no control over their village anymore,” said Sheila, who has worked in Dundrum Bookshop for four years. “It’s very sad. It’s too big for this area really because it impacts on the locals and it’s seven days a week. Most of our regulars are really upset about it. It’s hard to know how it’s going to pan out.”

“Our estates are being used for parking,” alleged Leanne, who works in a small gift shop called Bright Ideas. “When I come to work in the morning there are lines of cars.” Alison, who works with her mother Irene in Irene’s Flower Shop held a similar point of view. “The new shopping mall does not cater for staff parking. So they have to park somewhere else. It’s changed a lot here and a few people I know are even thinking of moving.” Irene agreed, “There is a feeling that the village has been taken over.”

The size of the new shopping centre seems to appeal to the younger generation. “It’s great. It’s brilliant for shopping. It doesn’t have pubs and clubs in it but it’s great,” said Leanne, who is 21.
The new Town Centre is full of popular British High Street clothing stores but short on those that provide everyday necessities. Because the type of clothing on offer is mainly aimed at the younger market, there is a feeling that older people’s needs have been overlooked.

Marie has worked in Pins and Needles, the only wool and haberdashery shop in the area for thirty years. “There is no fabric shop in the new centre. We have customers who like to sew and knit and they have to go into Dublin to get fabric. It really is very sad, particularly for the older people,” she said. “Having said that, we are not bitter towards the new centre– it’s beautiful, bright, airy and all that.”

In addition to the lack of wares to suit them, the vastness of the new centre has proven to be off-putting for many older residents. The social aspect of having a small shopping centre in a small village is now destroyed. “Most of the regulars here are elderly and there is absolutely nothing for them at the new Town Centre,” said Alison. “At one stage a group of elderly people came for coffee at CocoBerrys every day. They’ve been coming since I was a child. Before it was CocoBerrys it was Bewleys and they came then too. There are places to eat in the new shopping centre but they are crowded and expensive.”

No-one is sure when the old shops will close. “It could be two years or two months. We don’t know for sure. It’s very uncertain,” said Marie from Pins and Needles. “We’re not closing down, we’re hoping for relocation. That was part of the original plans.”

Irene from the Flower Shop said, “It’s strange they were allowed to do away with a village,” and her daughter added, “I think they’re hoping we’ll just disappear.”

Don Nugent, Centre Director of the Dundrum Town Centre in a recent letter to The Irish Times said, “When completed, the Dundrum Town Centre will include a community theatre, cinemas, an adult education centre, restaurant, pedestrianised streets, a library, a public square, a hotel, offices and apartments among other features. The businesses in the centre already include many Irish retailers of various types and all of this will sit alongside the many established local businesses and services on the main street.”