Council attempts to woo Ikea to Fermoy
The Swedish company, which is the largest furniture retailer in the world, is actively seeking to build a store in the Cork region.
Now officials from the Fermoy municipal district council have contacted the company suggesting that the former Fitzgerald Camp in the town, which closed in 1998, would be an ideal location.
The site was subsequently taken over by the IDA and is fully serviced. But for many years the IDA has been unable to secure tenants for it.
Members of the local municipal authority supported the move after it was suggested by Cllrs Deirdre O’Brien and Noel McCarthy.
Cllr O’Brien said Ikea would be a great asset to the region, providing much-needed employment and said it wouldn’t clash with similar local retailers because it would only be an order and collection point.
Council officials also agreed to write to the IDA pointing out the potential opportunity to finally find a tenant for the site.
Cllr O’Brien said the town is serviced by the M8 and people can get to it very easily: “Fermoy is becoming more attractive with a growing population and jobs follow people.”
Cllr Noel McCarthy said each of the three towns in the municipal district — Fermoy, Mitchelstown and Charleville — “have qualities that would suit an Ikea store, namely geographical location, transport, available sites and a skilled local workforce”.
“We’ve been criticised in Fermoy in the past for not bringing businesses in. I’m in business myself, the more businesses that come into town the better, it’s up to the other businesses to feed off them and I think if Ikea did come they would bring more footfall to Fermoy,” he said.
