Business owners and community leaders in the Co Wexford town are up in arms over plans to name an out-oftown shopping complex 'Gorey Town Centre'.

Signposting the new development in this fashion could, established local traders claim, result in potential shoppers and intending visitors to Gorey unintentionally bypassing the real centre of the town.

Local Labour councillor Robert Ireton described the plan as an 'insult' to the people of Gorey. "Every councillor is in agreement that it should not be called 'Gorey Town Centre'.

"We are very unhappy that they are taking away from the town centre that has existed since the town began - and it's an insult to the people of the past."

The town council is now planning a meeting with the shopping complex developers, Palazzo Properties, to discuss the issue and ways are being explored to prevent the possible erection of roadside signage identifying the new complex as 'Gorey Town Centre'.

"Gorey Town Centre is a working title for the shopping complex, " a spokesman for Palazzo Properties says. "No final decision has yet been made about what the eventual name will be. The very last thing we would want to do is antagonise people over the issue." Dunnes Stores is to anchor the 120,000sq ft enclosed shopping centre development with an 88,000sq ft retail unit, one of the chain's largest outlets outside Dublin.

The centre will also include 19 internal mall units, restaurants and a creche, along with 400 surface and basement-level car-parking spaces. 'Gorey Town Centre' is expected to open for business in late summer.

"Dunnes Stores arrival will copperfasten Gorey as a destination in its own right and ensure that it draws from a much wider catchment, " says Paul Fahey of agents Bannon Commercial.

"The town has experienced significant population growth over the last 10 years with an increase of 90% from the census in 1996."

Fine Gael councillor Colin Webb was first to raise the issue of the new scheme's controversial name.

"It's certainly not the traditional town centre and calling it that is likely to confuse people visiting Gorey.

This could actually damage trade on the town's main street.

"And as far as I'm aware the development isn't even within the town's electoral area.

"It's a good marketing ploy, I will give them that. I can see how it would make commercial sense to market units in the scheme in that way.

"However, the local council has been actively promoting the real town centre as a vibrant commercial focal point. We have several signs erected signalling the main street as 'Gorey town centre'.

Neither the local chamber of commerce nor the town council are in favour of this wording. There is general agreement that it would be detrimental to the town."

Wexford County Council planning department says it does not have the authority to prevent the developers using the controversial name for the complex.

"There is no planning condition saying they can't call themselves anything they like, " says director of services, Niall McGuigan. Inside the site area they are within their rights to erect any signage they like.

"However we do have control over off-site signage, and any advance road signage that might be planned."

He says it's impossible for his department to legislate for all potential planning controversies of this nature.

"We get 5,000 planning applications every year. If we were to outline all the things you couldn't do in relation to every proposal, we'd never get our work done.

"In reality it's very hard to regulate negatively. This is something we haven't come across before. I have heard of it happening in other parts of the country although I'm not aware of any particular instance. It is however, something we'll be conscious of in the future."

"It is wrong for them to use the title 'Gorey Town Centre' inside or outside, " Fine Gael councillor Kay O'Gorman told a recent council meeting.

"It takes away from the main street. I think that we should object to them using that term at all."