DUNDALK TALK
Is Louth County Council not putting the horse before the cart in spending a considerable sum in revamping the public space and infrastructure in Dundalk town centre without first tackling the problem of vacant and, in some cases, derelict properties ?
It is, according to some, comparable with landscaping your front garden and ignoring the roof of your home falling in.
That question has occupied the minds of many townspeople since the work on Clanbrassil Street and Bridge Street started in January.
At present the work, favoured by good weather in the early part of the year, is going well and the section nearing completion in and around the post office is looking well.
The problem is however that currently over 20% of the commercial properties in the two streets are vacant, with a number bordering on dereliction.
The exact figures are a little alarming in that of the 103 retail, licensed, commercial and business premises in Clanbrassil Street, some 21 are either boarded up or closed.
In Bridge Street the figures are 26 premises, of which 3 are closed.
Naturally the council, and indeed others, will argue that without revamping the two streets with new pavements, street furniture, road surface and lighting, there is little prospect that owners of the closed properties investing in renovating their premises, while those seeking to lease business properties, will look at other locations.
That conclusion ignores the reality, evident not just in Dundalk, but throughout Ireland and Britain, that the commercial heartland of towns are having the life blood drained from them by the rapid growth in online shopping, and a preference for enclosed shopping centres.
It may be that the local authority in Dundalk, like many others, are reluctant to abandon their town centres to this trend, but is there any point in trying to buck this global trend.
Of course local authorities argue that they have little or no say in the upkeep and use of privately owned property, and that legal routes of persuasion have little impact.
Their preference would be to see all 130 premises in Clanbrassil Street and Bridge Street renovated and re-opened as going concerns, but that is not going to happen for it would make little commercial sense to invest in a derelict town centre business at this time.
The objective should therefore be concentrated on seeking another use for these premises such as devising tax incentives, possibly grants and favourable planning regulations for the owners to convert them for residential use, or following the example seen in Limerick last week where a shopping centre left vacant for many years has been acquired by Limerick University for conversion as part of the college campus.
There is no such large building in Clanbrassil Street, but there is one directly behind it, Carroll Village which has been vacant for some years, and if it was converted for some other use other than retail, it would help revitalise the town centre.
Not far from Clanbrassil Street there is another major premises, the old Dunnes Store in Park Street that has also remained vacant for far too long.
Currently there are reports that it has been sold, but such rumours have been circulated for years and nothing has happened.
Dundalk is not alone inseeking answers to the rapidly changing world of retailing, and it is a problem that can only be solved by a dialogue between all the stake holders, local authorities, government and commercial interests.
CURRENTLY OVER 20% OF THE COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES IN THE TWO STREETS ARE VACANT