Property developer Paddy McKillen Jnr. and colleague Matthew are the pair behind Creatively Pacific Limited, the company which has put forward a planning application for development to the tune of €40 million in order to create what they describe in their application as “a beautiful, world class destination for people to enjoy within a wonderful setting.”
The application includes a gym, sauna, outdoor swimming pool and cinema along with a 48 unit accommodation block and a surf school along with 49 car parking spaces and associated service areas.
The dynamic duo who head up Press Up Entertainment have been selecting property and adding value to it since the mid noughties when they bought a plot, built a 4 bed house and sold it at a decent profit. Since then, they have been picking up properties and creating new experiences across the Country. Their portfolio includes hotels, restaurants, clubs, bars, fast food joints, record store, cinemas, cafes and upmarket grocery amongst their many other ventures.
With strong ties to Oakmount, the two companies have a somewhat symbiotic relationship, one that McKillen Jnr. and Ryan hold all the cards to. One of their more recent ventures being the much thwarted ‘Florentine Centre’ in Bray which is now called ‘Bray Central.’
Prior to the 21 acre Maghermore plot being auctioned off in 2021, a petition was created which attracted over 4,000 signatures. The support was strong at the time and called for the council to buy the land. The land however changed hands at €700,000 to the highest bidders following a council bid of €500,000 on the plot which had initially been valued at €200,000
A current petition entitled Stop the Destruction of the Curlew Wintering Grounds at Magheramore is currently garnering attention with 3,500 signatures currently listed. Spokesperson Martin Dyar who spoke on Wednesday morning on East Coast FM in relation to the proposed development and adverse affects on the biodiversity in the area has penned his thoughts on his petition page:
Magheramore is beautiful. It makes a claim on the heart of every visitor. An intimate cove with stout black cliffs topped with unlikely trees and grasses, a broad ever-changing strand, and a meditative view of the Irish sea which sometimes grants glimpses of Snowdonia. It is a renowned surfing spot, and the Irish surfing community (plugged in as it always is to the reality of the elements) remains central to the spirit of citizen stewardship that is attached to the place, something that is deepened by the tireless work of one local farmer in particular.
Sightings of bats, woodpeckers, jays, hen harriers, kites, and sparrowhawks are very common, together with legions of smaller birds, gulls and waders. The beach and the rocky intertidal areas to the north and south are also sensitive pupping grounds for seals. To see such things, even occasionally, and to be aware of them, creates a new kind of literacy, and it can prompt a powerful instinct of protection. What does biodiversity mean if not a will to resist the destruction of life?
Development of the Maghermore site will inevitably bring more tourism to County Wicklow and with that an estimated €2.8 million annually in additional revenues, not to mention the predicted 160 jobs it will create. Is the kick back to the proposed development a case of ‘not on my doorstep’ or is it protection of biodiversity in a time of crisis?
Curlew Image – Colm Clarke
