New ski slope and trampoline park planned for Dundalk

Plans have been drawn up for a 4,500sqm leisure centre on the outskirts of Dundalk which would provide the likes of a ski slope and trampoline park for the town.

The proposed development would be located at Red Cow on the Old Newry Road, close to St Brigid’s Park – home of Dowdallshill GF&AC – and cost around €7.1m to build.

The company behind the proposal are Riverstown-based Handlova Ltd, who trade as Cooley Spring Water. Run by the McSloy family, they already have close connections with a major leisure centre in Belfast called We Are Vertigo.

Europe’s largest trampoline park opened last December in the Newtownbreda Factory Estate on the Cedarhurst Road with the operators Gareth and Lorna Murphy saying at the time that they were looking at other sites in Ireland. Lorna’s family members Brian McSloy Jnr and Michael McSloy are the two directors of Handlova Ltd.

The Belfast centre offers activities for all ages, including two indoor ski slopes, climbing walls, a 100ft mobile zip line, a high wire rope course, a soft play area, a spa and two cafes.

The trampoline park includes two trampoline courts, three trampoline basketball lanes, stunt pits, climbing walls, a dodge ball court, Gladiator jousting and an open trampoline area.

Inside We Are Vertigo in Belfast

Handlova Ltd have applied to Louth County Council for outline planning permission for the leisure centre at Red Cow, which would incorporate car parking, landscaping and associated site development works, including the demolition of a non-habitable derelict cottage and outbuildings.

Plans come just three years after Innovative Leisure Systems’ plans for a €430m ski and leisure park, to be called Altitude, were rejected by An Bord Pleanala. It was to be located opposite Dundalk Stadium but would have been on a much larger scale with additional plans for the likes of a casino, cinema, bowling alley and hotel.

A separate trampoline park, Airbound, is also due to open shortly at the Northlink Retail Park on the Coes Road.

The local authority are due to decide on the matter by October 1st.

A video showcasing roughly what can be expected from the new facility, if given the go ahead, can be viewed below:

Three Dundalk sites close to being sold, including the land once earmarked for the ski slope facility

The land for sale at Hill Street, Dundalk, which recently went sale agreed

Three development sites for sale on the outskirts of Dundalk have gone sale agreed in the last few weeks, leading to speculation that deals for the land will be completed shortly.

10.6 acres at Mount Avenue and 7.395 acres on Hill Street are both zoned as Residential 1, while the 10.83 acres at the Racecourse Road is zoned strategic employment mixed use.

All three sites have been on the market in recent months with Sherry FitzGerald Carroll but it would appear that a deal is close to being struck for them.

The land at Hill Street – known locally as Naylor’s land – is located to the rear of Line Terrace and the old Crossan’s Opel Garage on the Dublin Road, as well as the Dunmor housing estate on the Avenue Road.

Meanwhile, the lands at Mount Avenue are located 500 metres to the left after taking the turn opposite to Oriel Park on the Carrickmacross Road, stretching behind the rear of McDermott’s Terrace down as far as Lis na Dara.

Meanwhile, the land on the Racecourse Road is located opposite Dundalk Stadium and had most recently been earmarked for the proposed ski slope and casino development that had been proposed by Sam Curran and Pearse O’Hanrahan’s business Innovative Leisure Systems (ILS).

That development had been granted planning permission by Dundalk Town Council a number of years back but this was overturned by An Bord Pleanala.

The land at the Racecourse Road, which had been earmarked for the ski slope facility