Kilrush town centre ‘dying on its feet’

KILRUSH town centre has been described as “dying on its feet”. This bleak picture of the West Clare capital’s prime retail and business area has been presented by long-time local public representative, Councillor Tom Prendeville.

Speaking to The Clare Champion ahead of this Thursday night’s town council meeting, where he has a motion on the issue, Councillor Prendeville said up to 70 premises in the middle of Kilrush are presently vacant.
“It’s obvious to anybody there that the town centre is dying on its feet. In Moore Street alone, you’d have 25 or 30 vacant premises. I would say that there would be anything up to 60 or 70 vacant premises in the town centre. I’m conducting a survey at the moment and I’ll have exact figures for the town council meeting,” he said.
While noting that concerns over rates, town-centre parking, rental costs and access to credit are contributing factors towards the commercial demise of the town centre, Councillor Prendeville also feels that Tesco and Aldi supermarkets, both of which are located on the Ennis Road, have impacted upon the town-centre retail trade.
“There is no doubt about that. They have had an effect and the same effect has been experienced in all towns where major multi-nationals came in.
“A lot of the businesses that have gone under over the past two or three years have done so because they weren’t able to compete with what was on offer in the multi-nationals and, certainly, that is a concern,” he acknowledged.
Councillor Prendeville feels Kilrush Town Council must play a role in helping to reinvigorate the town.
“Although the rates were frozen this year in Kilrush, which is good, maybe the time is right for a reduction in rates? And parking, is that an issue? Is that a barrier to people coming in and shopping in the town centre? Rents are another problem. It’s up to the town council to see what we can do to address the challenges that are presenting themselves, in particular, to the retail sector,” he suggested.
Councillor Prendeville cites Moore Street in Kilrush, which was once the town’s prime retail and business quarters, as a clear example of the reversal in the town centre’s economic well-being.
“Moore Street to us sums up exactly what we’re on about. There isn’t a shop available in Moore Street now to buy a pint of milk, which is certainly a huge problem.
“There’s only one or two enterprises still remaining on the street. The street is dying on its feet,” he stated, before suggesting a possible course of action.
“There’s only so much we can do as a town council. We would hope that there would be parallel co-operation there from the Department of Environment in the incoming government, who might introduce an urban renewal scheme for Moore Street, where buildings have become derelict and dilapidated,” Councillor Prendeville added.
He stressed it is in the interests of Kilrush Town Council to help the town centre to revitalise itself and become a vibrant place to do business.
“What we’re trying to address are the causes of the continued and ongoing removal of commercial activity from the town centre. Our remit should be to bring it back; not only to protect employment and local business but also from the point of view of the town council’s financial base.
“If shops continue to close, as a result of that, there’s a loss of revenue to Kilrush Town Council, which means that we would be able to provide less services to the community if we don’t have the necessary finance,” he explained.
Councillor Prendeville added that the town council’s annual ‘shop local’ Christmas initiative has been supported but that people simply have less money at the moment.
“There has been a tremendous response from the community in West Clare to shop local and to protect local jobs. However, we do find at the moment, because of maybe the reduction in people’s disposable income, that there is less money to go around now and that business is beginning to suffer,” he concluded.