A group of Ennis retailers have predicted that regeneration works in the county town will result in “definite” business closures.
The alliance, which calls itself Retailers of Ennis, has requested a pause on commercial rates for the duration of the works to mitigate the effect of the expected loss of business.
Public realm regeneration works in the county town worth €11.5m are expected to resume next Monday January 8th and conclude in April.
Included in the first phase of the project are upgrades to footpaths as well as the introduction of wall-mounted street lighting along O’Connell Street.
With many business owners expecting the resulting road closures to lead to a loss of business for the duration of the works, Retailers of Ennis have asked Clare County Council to “look favourably on any request to put a moratorium on rates payments” while works are ongoing.
All commercial premises in Clare are required to pay commerical rates to the local authority which are calculated by multiplying the valuation of the commercial property by the annual rate of valuation, which last year was €75.76.
Precious Pets proprietor Barry O’Driscoll, who’s a member of the alliance, believes businesses on O’Connell Street are paying particularly high rates and getting a “raw deal” due to frequent road closures in recent years.
The reduced amount of parking in the county town has also been pointed to as a factor resulting in reduced footfall for businesses in the region.
Figures released by the local authority in November revealed that the number of parking spaces in Ennis in recent years has fallen by 9% since 2008.
Retailers of Ennis Chair and owner of Custy’s Music Shop, John O’Connor is certain that if the town is made more inaccessible to motorists, they’ll have no choice but to shop elsewhere.
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In a statement to Clare FM, Clare County Council Senior Engineer with responsibility for Ennis Municipal District, Sean Lenihan, says “major capital works of this nature simply cannot be carried out without some impact, but this will, at all times, be kept to a minimum.
The statement continues “the necessary road closures will be phased and have been carefully developed to ensure the works can be carried out in a safe and timely manner but importantly, in a way that allows for Ennis to remain open to the visiting public and for traders to carry on with their business”.
Full Clare County Council statement:
“While Clare County Council accepts that there will be periodic disturbance and inconvenience as the works progress, the Council does not agree however, with Mr O’Connor’s broad statement that “businesses will be affected detrimentally by regeneration works which will see our main streets being closed for the coming year.”
Major capital works of this nature simply cannot be carried out without some impact, but this will, at all times, be kept to a minimum. The necessary Road Closures will be phased and have been carefully developed to ensure the works can be carried out in a safe and timely manner but importantly, in a way that allows for Ennis to remain open to the visiting public and for traders to carry on with their business.
To this end, we have had extensive public consultation with those affected. We have included for a full time Public Liaison Officer as part of the contractors works requirement, regular newsletters are being issued, update meetings with those affected during the various phases are being organised, and drop-in information clinics have been arranged, most recently on Monday 18th December where many positive comments were offered by the traders in attendance regarding the communication and cooperation provided during the works to date. All these measures will be ongoing throughout the works. The public are reminded that access to all businesses and properties will be maintained throughout the project and that the works were paused from early December until next Monday, 8th January, to allow for business to be unaffected during the busy Christmas period. This moratorium is also written into the Contract to be repeated again next Christmas.
In relation to the request for a Rates moratorium during the works, the accompanying supporting documentation gives more detail regarding same and some of the supports that the Council has in place to assist businesses during this time. It should be noted however, that as well as the significant match fund element to be provided for these particular works, all of the usual services provided by Clare County Council to Rate Payers will continue to be provided throughout the works.
On completion, all residents and visitors to Ennis will have significantly more benefits to enjoy in terms of public realm and accessibility, with traders expected to see a significant increase in footfall and dwell time resulting in increased business and spend in the local economy which will be very welcome news indeed.”
