Developer will not invest in Mitchelstown ‘until sewerage scheme upgraded’

A local businessman has said he will not invest €500,000 in a high tech food market for Mitchelstown as long as Irish Water fail to upgrade the local sewerage system.

Denis McGrath has sought to enlist the help of Kerry TD Michael Healy Rae, who he said may be the only hope to get the works underway.

Mr McGrath, who is a well known member of the town’s business community, said that urgent action needs to be taken to save the area.

“Michael Healy Rae, a lot of people like to make fun of his hats, but what he does is deliver for his area,” he said.

Denis, who has a successful international energy company, said that he had plans for a proposed food market that he believes could be a major success for the area, but said it cannot happen due to the inadequate sewerage system in the town.

“This isn’t just any food market. This is a state of the art project, like the Milk Market in Limerick or down in Midleton - this would be purely for local producers. I was going to put it in the yard of Marian House in New Square.

“There would be a cold food area and a restaurant area and there would be a whole lot of stands for people to sell their local crafts and food. By doing this project, I will be making a personal investments of €500,000. I’m just holding back.

“I think we’ve really suffered because of the failure of the sewerage system and it’s going to take a long time to catch up. A lot of business people now are looking for planning elsewhere, away from Mitchelstown - they are not even looking at the town,” he told The Avondhu.

LACK OF FOOTFALL

Mr McGrath, who failed in his bid to develop a gaming arcade on Lower Cork Street, said he has invited several potential tenants to view the property. These, he said, included big brand outlets in both food and clothing businesses, but all refused to invest due to the lack of footfall in Mitchelstown.

“Every one of them had to say that footfall isn’t good enough. And there were all sorts viewing it. They all said that the building is fantastic, the location is fantastic but refused to invest because of the (lack of) footfall and the reason for the bad footfall is that we can’t expand the town,” he added.

Denis strongly criticised the efforts of Cork County Council. When asked if he would stand for elected office, he said he was focused on his business interests and would not be able to dedicate his time.

He explained that he has sympathy for the plight of local councillors, but strongly criticised the efforts of local representatives over the last 20 years claiming they have “failed miserably” and expressed his upset that there was no TD in the immediate Mitchelstown/Fermoy area.

“This whole problem is there long before Irish Water was even the Government’s brainchild. It goes all the way back to when Stag Park was built when we were told the town’s sewerage system was running close to full capacity.

“I just wonder, do these people have the right to hold back the town in the short term, but there’s a long term and a short term solution.

“What I would like to get out there is regardless of political affiliation, that we all get together with a common cause and we go to County Hall. And when we show up, we mean business, that we’re not just going to be farmed out.

“There are young families and kids leaving the town - young lads playing sport elsewhere. The investments that I would plan to make, I’m just not going to make until this is resolved. And I’m sure there’s plenty more like me that would try to invest in Mitchelstown but they cannot. Why would they?” he asks.

“When we have the basic right of a functioning sewerage system, we can build houses and increase the footfall and grow our town,” he concluded.

Michael Healy Rae had responded to his letter last Sunday and said that he would ‘revert to him in due course’.