Major report taking pulse of Listowel launches

Health Check Report examines town centre

A MAJOR new survey examining every last aspect of the Listowel economy with a view to informing future growth is to be launched next Tuesday, December 11, at the Seanchaí Centre at 6pm by Chief Executive of Kerry County Council Moira Murrell.

The survey examines people’s impressions of the town’s shopping and dining options along with parking and entertainment facilities in addition to recommendations for improvement. The report will help to guide plans for the future management and development of the town.

The Listowel Town Centre Health Check Report 2018 focuses on the survey results of a number of key indicators of the overall health of the town centre including: level of town centre activities, ground floor land use/commercial mix, pedestrian footfall patterns and business operators’ and shoppers’ perceptions of the quality of the environment of the heritage town.

A hard copy of the report will be available for anyone who attends the launch on Tuesday night. The project team which completed the comprehensive TCHC survey of Listowel includes representatives from Listowel Business and Community Alliance and IT Tralee, with support provided by Kerry County Council.

Mayor of Listowel, Cllr Aoife Thornton said the report is a positive and constructive basis on which Listowel town can be further enhanced and developed: “This report provides us with some very valuable feedback on Listowel, taking stock of the town’s numerous assets. I am confident that we will all work together to maximise the benefits and opportunities for everyone” she said.

Chair of Listowel Business and Community Alliance Stephen Stack said the report provides useful signposts for the future: “The Town Centre Health Check is a very important piece of research and as a benchmark based on feedback from customers, business owners and visitors; it gives us a great indication of where we are and outlines the areas we need to work on. On behalf of the Listowel Business and Community Alliance, I would like to invite all Listowel people to the launch of this important report. If we can harness all the stakeholders of Listowel to get involved and work with us on a set of actions based on the feedback, then we will give people who visit our town the best possible experience and more reasons to spend in the town and stay with us.”

Head of Department, Creative Media and Information Technology, IT Tralee Brigid Crowley, paid tribute to the students who compiled the data.

“The students of the BA in Business Information Management programme were afforded an excellent opportunity to work with the relevant stakeholders in Listowel on this project. The Institute looks forward to working with the Listowel Business and Community Alliance, Kerry County Council and other stakeholders to maximise the opportunities for Listowel town, ensuring it continues to prosper and grow,” Ms Crowley added.