This article is from page 25 of the 2013-07-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 25 JPG
A FRESH appeal for Clare County Council to reduce its rates has been sounded out in Shannon this week following the announcement that one of the town’s newest retail businesses has signed a new three-year lease to remain at the SkyCourt Centre.
Having trial-traded SkyCourt Shannon as a retail location for the past twelve months, the big brandsfor-less retailer Dealz has signed a further three-year lease with SkyCourt, confirming its commitment to the shopping centre as an attractive option for retailers.
In hailing the announcement, SkyCourt manager Pat Kelly has called on the local authority to undertake an urgent review of its rates charges.
“It’s a misconception that we are charging high rents. We offer very flexible lease terms. We don’t, however, control rates, which is a huge issue for retailers who want to open in the shopping centre,” he said.
“For a lot of the retailers in SkyCourt, rates payable to Clare County Council are higher than the service charge or rent and this is a deterrent to setting up and a factor in many closures. We too would appeal to Clare County Council to urgently review the rates payable in Shannon,” added Mr Kelly.
The announcement that Dealz is to remain at Shannon comes as a major boost to SkyCourt, with Mr Kelly saying that the discount store has “become extremely popular with Shannon shoppers, generating the level of footfall required to remain sustainable”.
Calling on the people of Shannon to support their town, shop local, and keep businesses open, Mr Kelly said that the retention of Xtra-vision at SkyCourt is the perfect example of where this level of support is needed. SkyCourt management has agreed with the new owners of Xtra-vision to ‘trial trading’ in the centre until August 2013 when they will review trade and make a final decision to remain open or close.
“This store has always traded well in SkyCourt. We need to encourage the people of Shannon to get down to the store and avail of the great bargains currently available in the shop, and in so doing help to keep the store open into the future,” said Mr Kelly.
“It would be very disappointing to lose Xtra-vision from SkyCourt; we simply have to prove the Shannon store’s viability,” he added.
Commenting on recent closures in SkyCourt, Mr Kelly said that while Shannon has lost three shops since Christmas, it’s very much a reflection of the recessionary times and an occurrence that is being mirrored in towns throughout Ireland.