Working group being set up to help get area back in business
The Gorey-Kilmuckridge Municipal District is in the process of forming a working group, made up of council officials, members of Wexford Chamber, business owners and councillors.
The concept was proposed by District Manager Michael Drea at the May meeting, after he had already been in contact with Wexford Chamber.
‘It’s a heavy strain on business having to balance social distancing guidelines with getting sufficient footfall through the door to make it sustainable and worthwhile for them to open their doors. It’s in everyone’s interest that the town and the district opens up as quickly as it can and gets back to normality and the ability to trade. I would be anxious to engage and discuss any and all options that could work and make it easier to operate in the current climate. The chamber would be delighted to come on board,’ he said.
Mr Drea said that key to this would be to work quickly, identifying key ideas that are feasibility and workable.
‘Realistically, we need to be able to report back to the members with a comprehensive report for the next meeting,’ he said.
Councillors agreed that this concept of helping businesses would have to extend to the entire district, to give it the lift it needs as society and the economy start to open up again.
‘I’d be proposing that we seriously look at Gorey’s Main street, turning it in to a one-way system where you only allow north bound traffic through the street and south bound traffic down at St Michael’s Road to give businesses access to the footpath for tables and chairs, moving the footpaths out onto the south bound lane, said Cllr Anthony Donohoe. ‘I’m not suggesting a full pedestrianisation of Gorey Main Street but we need to be fairly inventive here to try help and support these businesses to get back to as much turnover as they possibly can. We need to be radical in our thinking on what we’re going to do.
‘We have a fund of money that is going to be left over from festivals, we also each have a discretionary fund that we could look at putting towards that. This Covid-19 is going to be with us for a long time and we need to think long-term how we’re going to support businesses. If we reduced parking on the Main Street, we could bring in the St Joseph’s site as a temporary car park. June 29 is the date for reopening, and if there’s big changes to be made it leaves us 13 days from our next meeting on June 16. We need the working group to present the findings earlier than June 16,’ he said.
Cllr Donal Kenny said he was 100% behind Cllr Donohoe and needed to work sooner rather than later.
‘People out want to be able to feel comfortable in a cafe so we’d want to be able to do something to assist business getting back,’ he said.
Cllr Fionntán O Súilleabháin said that he would like to go onto the working group, and suggested a town centre mobility plan.
‘We very much need to think outside the box on it in exceptional times. We’re going to have to support the hospitality sector, so the Civic Square could be used as a communal area that people could take food or drink to, parking might need to be looked at and reconfigured. We must ensure we have enough bins for disposal of PPE, roped areas, outdoor hand washing. We need to put our heads together and come up with some creative solutions and come up with a plan,’ he said.
Cllr Diarmuid Devereux said he’d like to join the working group as well, but said he wasn’t too sure about totally pedestrianising the Main Street.
‘Pedestrianising the Main Street is something we’d want to think on very carefully. I don’t know what that’s going to do to bring more people into the town. We’re only about 20 weeks from the big spend in Gorey, such as the Christmas Festival from Black Friday. I would suggest trying to create a shopping boom maybe from the October bank holiday through to Christmas Eve. It’s a huge challenge but I think we’re all just going to have to pull together to get out of it,’ he said.
Cllr Mary Farrell said that her main concern is the impact of not having tourism in Wexford, and that any implementations in Gorey needs to be seen down around the tourist areas of the district too.
‘Those businesses will be looking for that support and we have to think about how we can be innovative with all of them. Gorey is our urban centre, but we need to invest in the tourism trade for Wexford with initiatives to try and resurrect some of that trade as all of those along the coast are going to need a lot of support to counteract what happened,’ she said.
Cllr Joe Sullivan agreed that there are businesses all over the district that need this help.
‘If we come up with a plan, it should embrace all of the district. I don’t want to see everywhere else getting left behind just so that we get the Main Street in Gorey back. If we get the Main Street going, we have to make sure the rest come with us,’ he said.
Cllr Pip Breen said that these changes were going to be difficult. ‘It’s all weather dependant. We have to sit down and think it through to come up with a solution to benefit business in the district because they all need that little bit of a lift. Each shop has its own unique take the Main Street, and we are in uncharted waters and have to have the feedback from shop keepers and business owners. It’s a delicate balance but we’ve a job of work to do, so let’s get on with it’.
Mr Drea said that pedestrianising would be the most radical change.
‘Parking spaces is something I envisage the working group would look at. This will only work with total cooperation and collaboration with the businesses and traders. I would encourage them to lead the dialogue on what they think would benefit their business and we should consider any and all options that they bring forward and then settle on the most practical solution, delivering the best result.
‘This gets more complex the deeper you dig. The removal of some on-street parking to facilitate placing street furniture outside and allow pedestrian access and social distancing is definitely an option. But with street furniture, you have to ask who is responsible for disinfecting. The working group would tease through all of those suggestions and bring back a number of options to the full district council,’ he said.
Speaking about the future, Mr Drea said that the Christmas festival is still up in the air at the moment, and that campaigns on tourism and shopping local would have to be developed.
Cllr Willie Kavanagh raised concerns about the increase in online shopping, which led to a discussion on rates.
‘I’d welcome any help, but maybe it’s more for the chamber than the council. We need to tackle the online shopping surge with any initiatives to counteract it,’ he said.
Cllr Diarmuid Devereux said that encouraging online shopping could end up crippling local authorities.
‘We depend as a local authority on rates as one of our primary sources of income and the problem with online shops is that, particularly with the multi nationals, they don’t pay rates in Wexford. The chamber and the LEO are helping Wexford businesses get online but we should be doing everything possible to support local businesses, the shops on the street. They are delivering a service within the town and I’ve no problem supporting them to go online,’ he said.
Cllr Andrew Bolger said that now was the time for trying new things.
‘I would support the pedestrianisation of the Main Street and side streets as a trial. We need to make sure that it isn’t set in concrete so we can go back if it doesn’t work. It would be helpful to use local resources we have in the Hatch Lab and Business Park to support businesses with online shopping to make their presence felt faster, quicker and better’.
Amanda Byrne said that any campaigns around shopping would need a full county approach.
‘Gorey has a good base and we have something there to build on. Some businesses have a strong online presence already, so we need a shopping experience that matches that so people feel safe and comfortable in Gorey and want to return.
‘We don’t want to be competing with each other in Wexford and we want to reach outside of Wexford. The plan needs to be dynamic and adaptive, and we need to be prepared to change it as the situation is going to be evolve. We need to be able to keep pace as we want people and tourists to feel safe in Gorey town,’ she said.
Correspondence has now begun between the Municipal District and the relevant parties to form the working group.
Wexford Chamber of Commerce has given a committment to work with the group.
The aim of the group is to hear directly from local businesses, traders and other interested parties on how the community in which they are based can best support them getting back to business while adjusting to new social distancing requirements.
The working group wish to discuss the prospect of changes to Gorey Main Street as well as other measures to help the rest of the district and county itself get back on its feet, balancing health and safety measures with sustaining footfall this summer.
Fiona Lewis of Wexford Chamber, said she is looking forward to having positive and productive conversations with businesses and all involved.
‘Each town has its own special magic to offer and we will be taking a Visit Wexford approach to this, meaning it will be replicated throughout the county in so far as we can. I’m delighted to have been included as part of this plan and I’m looking forward to the conversations with businesses across different sectors.
‘We must make our streets attractive for traders, locals and tourists alike. This week we will be hosting online meetings via Zoom and any new ideas out there will be listened to and considered. It fits in with our new Revive Wexford report, where we look at offering support and advice from professionals on reopening’.
Interested local councillors volunteered their support, with District Manager Michael Drea saying that support came from across the board but had to be narrowed down to just four councillors.
Those chosen were Chairperson of the District Council Joe Sullivan, Councillor Mary Farrell, Councillor Anthony Donohoe and Councillor Fionntán O Súilleabháin.
Councillor Joe Sullivan confirmed that local business people in the town are currently being contacted to come on board, while three Council officials will also sit on the group.
Those in the business community interested in having their say or who have any particular idea, can email info@wexfordchamber.ie.