GROUP MEETS ON PEDESTRIAN PLAN
STAKEHOLDERS from the business sector in Enniscorthy met with senior officials from the local authority last week as part of to discuss proposals to pedestrianise the centre of the town.
The measure was raised at last week’s meeting of Enniscorthy Municipal District Council when members voiced support for consideration of the proposal (see the council report on page 16).
However, on Wednesday morning representatives of the business sector met with District Manager Ger Mackey as part of the Steering Group organised to discuss the matter.
A number of concerns were raised at Wednesdays meeting with regard to potential issues around the pedestrianisation of the Market Square area as originally presented by officials.
However, four alternative options were also raised at the Wednesday meeting and it’s believed a more formal proposal in relation to one of those options will be brought to both the members’ attention and the stakeholders in the coming weeks.
A spokesperson for Enniscorthy & District Chamber said Wednesday’s discussion centred around the best way the reopening of Enniscorthy can take place.
The Steering Committee represents all aspects of the commercial sector in the town and the meeting was chaired by the Enniscorthy local authority’s Cathaoirleach, Cllr Kathleen Codd-Nolan.
While pedestrianisation of certain areas of Market Square formed a major component of the meeting, other topics discussed included on-street trading, developing a night economy, the need for improved use of social media as a marketing tool to promote Enniscorthy, and on-line sales.
The chamber spokesperson said that while no decisions were taken at the meeting a number of sub-committees were formed to look at all aspects of issues raised and to consult with colleagues in the business community.
Those sub committees are expected to report back to the overall Steering Committee tomorrow ( Wednesday, May 27).
One of the business owners who attended last week’s meeting is Aoife Foran, from Put A Bow On It on Main Street.
She was complimentary to Mr Mackey’s approach and said everyone wants to open up the town again in a manner that is a positive experience for traders and customers.
‘ The situation is slightly different for each shop because everyone has their own things that have to be done [for social distancing],’ said Ms Foran.
‘I have had to take tables out of my shop,’ she added.
Ms Foran is also doing a free delivery service around the town and she said that’s something that could be explored further so that businesses that had deliveries to make could pool resources or be part of a broader delivery scheme in the town.
‘Help needs to be given to people who do not have social media pages either because they
really do need to have a social media presence now,’ she said.
‘ There are grants available at the moment that cover 90 per cent of the costs of a website and not everyone is aware of it and I think they should promote that offer and move it out to the business sector,’ she added.
Ms Foran will be reopening for business herself on Monday, June 8, at 10 a.m. She plans to keep doing free deliveries even if a more broader delivery scheme isn’t developed throughout the town.
John O’Leary, from My Sport on Castle Street, said a lot of discussions are still taking place with regard to developing a strategy that will work best for the town.
He emphasised the importance of everyone working together to develop plans that will benefit the town as a whole.
He said traders will be talking to each other as they prepare for reopening on June 8, and June 29.
‘We will adapt and we will work under the guidance of the health authorities,’ said Mr O’Leary.
Like all businesses Mr O’Leary is adapting his shop to ensure the safety of his staff and customers when he reopens and said: ‘ The safety of staff and customers is more important than anything else.’
He said he was happy that people are working on developing a plan for the town and said: ‘We need to do it in a safe manner for everyone. For a lot of people, shopping will be an anxious experience [at first] and I get that too.’
Mr O’Leary said it’s important that people look out for one another and commented: ‘If I am bringing staff into work and inviting customers in then their safety is more important the selling product.’
‘We are also going to do out-of-hours appointments for the elderly and frontline workers,’ he said. ‘ That will also ensure their safety as well.’
Tom Herlihy, from Turkuts on Rafter Street, expressed his own views on the issues of pedestrianisation and the best way to reopen the town for business.
He said that within the original area proposed for pedestrianisation there are 45 parking spaces, two loading bays and two wheelchair spaces and that if pedestrianisation occurred as originally planned revenue would be lost through the loss of those spaces and a further issue would be where those spaces could be accounted for elsewhere.
‘Where are you going to create 45 spaces if you take 45 out of action,’ he said.
He suggested that the days of people browsing in shops are probably now gone and the overall shopping experience for people will change.
Mr Herlihy also said the town’s tourism potential needs to be maximised more.
‘Enniscorthy as a town has huge potential for tourism,’ he said.
Mr Herlihy also compared it to a town like Kenmare and said Enniscorthy has a lot more going for it but Kenmare is a successful tourism town.
He also said the approaches to Enniscorthy could look better and this would attract people into the town centre.
‘If the roundabouts look good and attractive then people will be encouraged to take a closer look at the town,’ he said.
‘ There are seven roundabouts in-and-around Enniscorthy and they could be colourful and decorated with flower beds and it would make the picture more appealing for visitors,’ he added.
He said it’s up to the business owners to then ensure that what Enniscorthy has to offer is enough to keep visitors.
Mr Herlihy also suggested the shopfront enhancement scheme, similar to one that was utilised a number of years ago, should be reintroduced.
‘I think a lot of people would take it up,’ he said. However, he said one of the most important things the town needs regardless of plans for pedestrianisation is a tourist office.
‘You must have a proper tourist office in the centre of the town,’ he said.
‘We need to have a dedicated tourist office,’ he added.
Meanwhile, one of the options being considered by the Steering Group is for partial pedestrianisation of the town centre that would see pedestrianisation in the evening time only.