This article is from page 13 of the 2011-06-28 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 13 JPG
THE centre of Ennis town should be developed as much as possible, in an effort to attract shoppers.
That’s according to the local Chamber of Commerce, in the wake of the County Development Plan’s publication yesterday.
As part of the retail strategy, which is incorporated into the Development Plan, the challenge for Ennis is to improve its retail representation, particularly through the provision of large modern shop units in the town centre, without harming its attractive historic character.
The strategy also states that there is scope for improvement in the range of non-bulky and bulky comparison goods offered in Shannon.
It states that the growth of retail floor space should be encouraged so that the town centre can improve its quality of service in Shannon.
Among the groups to make submissions was Ennis Chamber of Commerce. CEO Rita McInerney said there are several positive parts of the plan.
“The big message is to develop a strategy that keeps a core in the town. We would be in favour of that; developing the core of the town as much as possible. There are a lot of new places opening up and we want to make sure they stay and we have to foster that,” she said.
“The one thing I picked out of it [the plan] is the commitment to develop town centre improvement strategies to make town centres more attractive for shoppers,” said Ms McInerney.
She believes that the content of the plan is achievable, but everyone must work together to ensure it happens.
“It’s implementing the elements of the plan within the timeframe that is important. A lot of work has gone into it. It’s a vision. Now we need to make it a reality. Otherwise we are going to have more businesses closing,” she said.
“It’s a combination of efforts; the local authorities in conjunction with local businesses and ourselves. We all have a job to do. We all need to get on board and work progressively,” she said.
“It is very much a balancing act. We have a unique town centre. You need to provide customer choice and diversity. We are located between two cities that have high street stores. We have to think very carefully about what type of companies we want in terms of retail. Is it viable to compete with those? There is a lot of interest in Ennis from retailers but they find it difficult to get town centre locations of the right size. We need to look at combining units in the town centre whilst keeping the character of the town centre. Everything is achievable,” he said.
“Overall the vision of the plan is very good in terms of retail. We just have to follow through on them,” said Ms McInerney.