10% of commercial units vacant

ONE in 10 commercial units in the county are vacant, according to a study undertaken in June, but the rate is much higher in Shannon (14%), while Ennis (11%) is also above this figure.

This was the finding of a study carried out by GeoDirectory, an agency jointly established by An Post and Ordnance Survey Ireland to create and manage the country’s only complete database of commercial and residential buildings.
It found there are 714 vacant commercial units or premises in the county, out of a total number of 7,231 commercial units. There was some good news, as the total vacancy rate in the county is just below the national average of 11%.
In the county town there were 230 vacant units recorded, while there were 67 empty in Kilrush. In Shannon, there are 204 vacant commercial units or premises, out of a total stock of 1,465.
Rita McInerney of Ennis Chamber said while there are more empty units these days given the weak economy, it isn’t particularly bad in the county town.
“Obviously there were fewer [empty units] during the boom years but I don’t think the numbers are that high. The number in Ennis is around the same as the rest of the country. We are fortunate in one sense that we haven’t seen a huge plethora of closures or anything like that.
“It’s important that we keep town centres alive because the more unoccupied they are, the more prone they are to things like anti-social behaviour and becoming ill-kept. Groups like the Tidy Towns have played an important role in keeping the town centre vibrant and colourful and alive and a lot of business people have invested heavily in their shop fronts and their appearance, which is vital.”
She also said the Ennis Access to Spaces Initiative (EASI), which is seeking to revitalise the town centre by facilitating the use of unoccupied spaces for creative and community use, helps improve the area. “There is a higher vacancy rate in Ennis than we would like to see but there is an opportunity to address that with EASI in the interim, until the economy picks up and we have a higher demand for premises. In fairness, there has been a reduction in rent in many premises. Landlords are anxious to get people into premises.”
The daft.ie rental report for the second quarter of the year was also published this week and showed that rents in Clare were 2.9% lower than a year previously. According to its statistics, the average rent in the county is now €572, some 28% lower than the peak.
According to the report, Clare is now the cheapest county in Munster to rent a property.