Council abolition ‘vacuum’

THE proposed abolition of Ennis Town Council will create a “vacuum” that could effect the development, not only of Ennis but the entire county if countermeasures are not put in place, Ennis’ town manager has stated.
Ger Dollard was speaking in response to calls for the implementation of a ‘town team’ in Ennis tasked with boosting business and the town’s profile. Mr Dollard commented, “The status of a town team will need to be reviewed in the context of the implementation of the Government’s reform programme for local government.
“Any new structures must ensure a clear focus on the future development of Ennis, as the absence of Ennis Town Council as an entity with a sole focus on the town of Ennis will create a vacuum that needs to be adequately filled for the continued development of Ennis and the wider county.”
The idea for the town team, put forward by Councillor Johnny Flynn and following the model set out by Retail Excellence Ireland (REI), has been supported by local businesses.
Councillor Flynn stated that a “representative, action orientated and well-funded team” is needed to tackle potential challenges facing Ennis town in the coming years.
According to the councilor, these challenges include the proposed abolition of the local authority under proposals for local government reform. The Fine Gael councillor also cited Ennis’ ranking in the recent REI study of town centres, which highlighted that a significant number of people do not see Ennis as their primary shopping destination.
Responding to the calls, Mr Dollard said, “As a member of the national REI committee on town management, I fully subscribe to the framework published by REI. Ennis Town Council has been progressing a number of initiatives to further develop the status of Ennis as a shopping destination and will continue to work closely with all parties towards achieving the objectives of the REI framework.
“We have consulted locally with various interests and the view expressed has been that the ability of parties to commit to further structures is limited and the preference has been expressed to utilise existing structures to fulfil the requirements of the town team. Promote Ennis, with some adjustment and perhaps broadening of representation, is ideally placed to fulfil the role as much of its existing work relates to issues covered under the town management framework. The resources required will be drawn from existing resources and I am confident that with a pooling of resources and an agreement on the priorities to be addressed will ensure that good progress can be made.”
Welcoming the suggestion of the town team, Brian O’Neill, chair of Promote Ennis stated, “Working together under the Promote Ennis umbrella has brought Ennis great achievements in 2012… The suggestion of a town team is welcomed by the business community and providing it will be a leading, representative team, I am certain the business community will be more than willing to strengthen and support work done by the team in 2013 and beyond.”
According to Councillor Flynn, “The recent suggestion of a town team for Ennis is, in my eyes, an important step in the right direction for Ennis, which can provide balance and certainty. It is fair to say that towns and cities that are creative and progressive like Galway, Westport and Killarney are never happy to sit on their laurels, they continuously change and improve how they do things. Ennis has shown this year through its vehicle, Promote Ennis, that it can be such a place. My suggestion would be to make the new town team action orientated and accountable and also allowing flexibility, combining short-term gains with long-term planning.”
He added, “People will make a detour to visit towns and cities they like; they will spend money in the shops and on food and drink in the restaurants and bars. The top performers in the REI survey, those that found favour with stakeholders, whether they be retailers, business people or ordinary citizens, are the towns and cities that have managed to involve everyone in making their area the best it can be.”
He explained that the REI has outlined that town teams, in order to be an “effective partnership”, must fulfil at least three criteria. They must comprise public, private, voluntary, community sectors and all other relevant stakeholders; they need to devise a succinct and measureable plan and they require funding. The top suggestion to funding is the use of a Business Improvement District (BID), a public/private partnership in which business owners make a collective contribution to the maintenance, development and promotion of their commercial district.
At the beginning of 2012, Ennis representatives led by Councillor Flynn, representatives of the Ennis Chamber and Aoife Madden, chairperson of the Ennis Development Forum, called for a BID.
He concluded by saying, “We need to plan ahead and work hard now to establish, implement and equip a strong vehicle that can carry out the work Ennis Town Council has begun in order to smoothly and confidently transition into the new circumstances from 2014.
“For this task, confident and well-supported leadership is required. How Ennis commits its resources, in human and financial terms, will decide whether our town’s future is going to be one of success or failure. With a well-assembled team that is willing to work together, a solid budget and an outcome-oriented actionable plan in place, the town team will be able to assist and guide existing town organisations, framing the future for Ennis.”