McCann objects against Brewery Complex

merlante

What we have all expected is happening. That bastard, Brendan McCann, has come on WLR with a 200 page objection. Again the man is given prime air time, despite being elected by nobody, and being supported by only very few.

What will happen? Who knows.

My guess is that it will go through minus one floor -- cheers Brendan! Thanks for keeping out the Marriot and taking a floor off the cinema being developed in Railway Square, and all of the other developments that have been blocked and hindered! Have you done Waterford enough harm yet? :mad:

BEEMER

What a sad, little man. Wonder has HE ever been properly 'investigated' ?
Must be some dirt, somewhere.
:cool:

merlante

BEEMER wrote:

What a sad, little man. Wonder has HE ever been properly 'investigated' ?
Must be some dirt, somewhere.
:cool:

The worst thing was there were people texting in to WLR supporting him, making it look like he has a fair amount of support. Successive elections show that he has little or no support from the public at large. :mad:

What other individual gets a regular slot on WLR to air all their eccentric grievances! :mad:

Maharet

The problem with this development is there probably is a lot of objection to it, not just from him...unfortunately.

merlante

Maharet wrote:

The problem with this development is there probably is a lot of objection to it, not just from him...unfortunately.

Yeah, but he is probably the most experienced objector and obstructor in the state at this stage! :mad:

Maharet

Well yeah, with more people objecting, he'll have more clout because he can organise them.

trishw78

I wasn't listening to WLR.

I don't understand why he's objecting to rejuvinating one part of the city that badly needs. It people like him that are dragging the place down.

merlante

trishw78 wrote:

I wasn't listening to WLR.

I don't understand why he's objecting to rejuvinating one part of the city that badly needs. It people like him that are dragging the place down.

He has a thousand tiny little points that don't add up to much, like the fact that at certain times of day a load of loading trucks will have to go down down a narrow street in a residential area, and the people living nearby will have no light, etc. Or that the view of the city from John's hill isin't medieval anymore. Or that lots of cars will need to navigate narrow streets for parking. (fair enough, but people don't *need* to park right underneath the thing)

Well I live just off John's Hill, and I noticed that this medieval view of the city was finally obscured by railway square. I love our medieval city, but I have to say, if ancient towers and spires are the tallest things in the city, then modern Waterford has big problems. I intend to move back to "modern" Waterford, and it would be nice if the shopping was up to the standards of the other cities. It'll get there if McCann backs off, even a little bit.

As for the concerns of the locals, the inner city was very busy in the past, and it will be/is very busy again. If they think that inner city streets are going to go back to the tranquility (or the quietness of decay) of the 1950's, then they're living on another planet! If they want quiet and light, they can sell their houses, whose value will have skyrocketted, and move to a quieter part of the city.

trishw78

Ah I see his point. True there will be more traffic. But then again will he be the first to do a u-turn if the city dried up and became a waste land...

merlante

trishw78 wrote:

Ah I see his point. True there will be more traffic. But then again will he be the first to do a u-turn if the city dried up and became a waste land...

He says he doesn't disagree with Waterford getting more retail, if it's the right sort of scheme yada, yada... (which in his eyes it *never* is) He'd be the first one to tell retail on the outskirts of a city is unsustainable, so where is the shopping supposed to go? If not bang, smack in the city centre, where?

If they have to close the narrow streets and move the parking out a bit, then so be it! (and I don't think that is necessary yet)

trishw78

I'm afraid on this topic I think he's wrong retailers esp the big ones like marks and spencers are not going to come to waterford as there's no where for them to go in the city centre so I'm afraid that building or refurbishing shopping centres in the burbs is the way to go.

And I'm sorry if people don't agree but it's a fact. Town is nightmare for parking or driving through as it is

Bards

trishw78 wrote:

Ah I see his point. True there will be more traffic. But then again will he be the first to do a u-turn if the city dried up and became a waste land...

Is everyone forgetting that the Bypass will Start in April of this year and be finished well before the shopping centre..thus removing a lot of traffic from the City. I am sure that a successfull one-way system can be put in operation to cater for the traffic movement around the city centre.

There should also be a move towards providing Park & Ride facilities on the outskitrs of the city near the bypass & outer ring roads further alleviating the amount of traffic entering the "old city"

merlante

Indeed, park & ride, etc. is much more progressive than moving retail out to the suburbs. Non centralised services only make traffic congestion worse in the long run.

Freddie59

trishw78 wrote:

I'm afraid on this topic I think he's wrong retailers esp the big ones like marks and spencers are not going to come to waterford as there's no where for them to go in the city centre so I'm afraid that building or refurbishing shopping centres in the burbs is the way to go.

You're dead right. But this guy is typical of a fourth rate politician trying to run for a third rate fringe party. He'll use any vehicle and that WLR crowd are worse to humour him.:rolleyes:

trishw78

Ah I see his point. True there will be more traffic. But then again will he be the first to do a u-turn if the city dried up and became a waste land...

Maybe my sarcasim wasn't clear enough

merlante wrote:

Indeed, park & ride, etc. is much more progressive than moving retail out to the suburbs. Non centralised services only make traffic congestion worse in the long run.

I think we need something in between. I understand your point but at the moment the quay and bridge street can't handle the normal saturday evening shopping traffic. Park & Ride is a good idea in theory but it's not going to work. Because people hate the idea of having to drag bags around town when it's easier to make several trips back and forth to your convently park car nearby.

merlante

trishw78 wrote:

I think we need something in between. I understand your point but at the moment the quay and bridge street can't handle the normal saturday evening shopping traffic. Park & Ride is a good idea in theory but it's not going to work. Because people hate the idea of having to drag bags around town when it's easier to make several trips back and forth to your convently park car nearby.

Yeah, ye see, all this is going to have to go, sooner or later. If you lived in Dublin, you'd get used to walking and fighting your way through crowds in order to shop. We can't expect to bring our cars everywhere we like, especially not on Waterford's narrow streets.

When lots of people shop in one small area -- which is way better traffic wise, and public transport wise, than out of town shopping -- you can't expect to drive right up outside every shop. You won't be able to do this for much longer in Waterford, and the streets weren't designed for cars anyway.

As an intermediate solution to park and ride, I suggest park and walk.

Ultimately the cars will have to go from the quay too, because it is a truly awful use of an amazing riverfront. :mad: More and better multi-storey carparks are needed, accessible by decent streets.

trishw78

at last merlante sometihng we can agree on

Bookee

Anyone here going to his up-coming meeting..?!

kano476

yeah with a sack of doorknobs

Bards

Is it tonight at 8:00 ?

trishw78

Oh I'm busy darn I'm planning on having a headache

merlante

kano476 wrote:

yeah with a sack of doorknobs

Go on you good thing, my eyes are watering with pride just thinking about your dedication. Give him a whack of a snooker ball in a sock for me, will yeh?

Bards

Did anyone go to this meeting, and if so, what was the outcome?

meldrew

Who appointed him spokesman for the residents anyway ? It only makes him think he's more important than he is

Bards

Apparently he appointed himself....

Article from Waterford Today
===============================================

By Deirdre Dalton
A public meeting organised by Green Party activist Brendan McCann to discuss the proposed Brewery shopping complex development, which if given planning permission will incorporate fifty retail units, a food court, sports bar and bowling centre, a 110-bed hotel with conference centre and swimming pool, as well as parking for approximately 800 cars, facilitated an open and lively debate among the 50 people who attended on Monday evening last.
Opening the debate Mr McCann stressed that he was not against the development of the area which is to include buildings on Michael Street, New Street, John’s Lane, Browne’s Lane, Stephen Street and Alexander Street. However he stated he is concerned in relation to the size and impact of such a development on the community and local landscape.

Scale of Development
In an attempt to quantify what would be the single largest development Waterford City has ever seen Mr McCann went onto explain that “a development this size will define the city for the next century. It would be twice the size of City Square or 6 times the size of the current New Street carpark and the height of the Railway Square Development.”
However Mr McCann’s biggest concern was the impact the increased volume of traffic will have on the area which was built in Norman times for much less traffic. He also expressed concerns in relation to access for local people to their homes and what he envisages as a state of “grid lock”.
In defence of the development he stated that the quality of the apartments proposed are “the best he has seen for the city centre.”
Development Needed
Although some individuals took exception to the fact that Mr McCann was making objections to the development the general consensus at the meeting was that the development is needed but that the scale is too big for the area to cope with.
Julie Ryan a resident on New Street while not against the development feels that the developers would have enough in the brewery and De La Salle commuinty centre without “taking our house as well.”
On the other hand, Colm O’Shea, a native of the city centre but now living in Dublin believes that this development is badly needed in Waterford and “the city centre belongs to everyone in Waterford. We need to grow as a city and attract people to live here. We’re already falling behind cities like Galway and Cork,” stated Mr O’Shea.

Special Council Meeting
Meanwhile Waterford City Council are to hold a special planning meeting this evening (Wednesday) at 5pm to discuss the proposed development with planning officials. However only one council member, Cllr Joe Kelly, Sinn Fein attended the public meeting on Monday last and Cllr Seamus Ryan, Labour, sent an apology for his absence.

Submissions
Waterford City Council have already received a number of submissions in relation to the development and the public have until 4pm today (Wednesday 18th) to make submissions, either for or against the development. A decision is then due to be made by 8th February.

Second Meeting
While encouraging people to make observations for or against depending on their position, Brendan McCann stated that “we will hold a another meeting in two weeks time” to discuss the councils decision.
At the time of going to press the development company KRM Construction partners were unavailable for comment.

Trotter

Bards wrote:

Did anyone go to this meeting, and if so, what was the outcome?

The outcome was Brendan McCann's face on the front of a local paper.. with 18ish months to go before a general election, Im starting to think this guy might be shrewd..

The more he shouts, the more people complain, the more media attention he gets, the more familiarity votes he gets.

merlante

Trotter wrote:

The outcome was Brendan McCann's face on the front of a local paper.. with 18ish months to go before a general election, Im starting to think this guy might be shrewd..

The more he shouts, the more people complain, the more media attention he gets, the more familiarity votes he gets.

He's been objecting to developments for years. He didn't get bigger, the developments did!

Bloody hope there's not enough protest/crazy votes in Waterford.

trishw78

There was a fairly lively debate on Bill McCarthy's show yesterday 24/01/06 unfortunately I only heard bits of it when I was on hold. Does anyone know if there's a transcript available

merlante

trishw78 wrote:

There was a fairly lively debate on Bill McCarthy's show yesterday 24/01/06 unfortunately I only heard bits of it when I was on hold. Does anyone know if there's a transcript available

I tried to record it, but I couldn't get the software working...

Basically, it turns out that Billy McCarthy has obvious sympathies for the anti-development argument and for Brendan McCann, and so the pro-development side were getting it from the anti-development types and the presenter! :mad:

The pro-Brewery people were allowed to be shouted down and talked over, and the residents of the area and Brendan McCann were allowed to say whatever they liked. One of the pro-development councillors had to spend half of his debate time defending himself against spurious and untrue claims coming from one eccentric resident who would laugh during other people's speaking time. It was a total circus, as usual, and I doubt anyone got anything out of it.

McCann was pressed on whether it was right that he has lodged over 30 objections over the past 2 years or so, and he was allowed, by a sympathetic presenter, to avoid answering.

Trotter

merlante wrote:

I tried to record it, but I couldn't get the software working...

Basically, it turns out that Billy McCarthy has obvious sympathies for the anti-development argument and for Brendan McCann, and so the pro-development side were getting it from the anti-development types and the presenter! :mad:

The pro-Brewery people were allowed to be shouted down and talked over, and the residents of the area and Brendan McCann were allowed to say whatever they liked. One of the pro-development councillors had to spend half of his debate time defending himself against spurious and untrue claims coming from one eccentric resident who would laugh during other people's speaking time. It was a total circus, as usual, and I doubt anyone got anything out of it.

McCann was pressed on whether it was right that he has lodged over 30 objections over the past 2 years or so, and he was allowed, by a sympathetic presenter, to avoid answering.

Thats that radio show for ya.. short sighted and parochial. I dont bother listening to it.

deisemum

I heard bits of it but the bits I heard were very unbalanced. Billy McCarthy seems to be very biased against the development and no doubt he'd claim he was playing devil's advocate as he has done in the past on other debates. He didn't give the prodevelopment side the same courtesy as Brendan McCann and the anti development. I thought Des Purcell was brilliant. He called McCann a serial objector because he has objected to at least 50 - 60 planning applications. He was like a rottweiler and kept pressing McCann (who kept trying to evade replying) on what his actual architectural qualifications were. Go Des!!! Billy McCarthy allowed McCann off the hook. On every discussion about this development in the last few weeks Billy McCarthy is clearly coming down on the side of the anti development crowd. I missed the rest of the debate.

Freddie59

Trotter wrote:

The outcome was Brendan McCann's face on the front of a local paper.. with 18ish months to go before a general election, Im starting to think this guy might be shrewd..

The more he shouts, the more people complain, the more media attention he gets, the more familiarity votes he gets.

Anyone who botes for him needs their head examined. His smug expression on the paper says it all.:mad: What he's doing is undermining potential investment in the City under the cloak of the planning laws. Does he even live in the area concerned? What will happen is that potential businesses will look eslewhere to invest, while we are stuck in an endless merry-go-round of objections.:mad:

merlante

deisemum wrote:

On every discussion about this development in the last few weeks Billy McCarthy is clearly coming down on the side of the anti development crowd. I missed the rest of the debate.

I noticed that. He has a lot of time for Brendan McCann too. There last week he said something along the lines of, "Brendan McCann is like the one little voice that speaks up against the normal run of things/establishment..." type of thing. In other words, he admires the man. And this is the guy they get to host the debate. Of course he is also the director of programmes at the station... Pity Liz Ready wasn't allowed do it, given that she's one of the few people you get on WLR that can actually speak properly, and has no obvious biases.

McCarthy has lost the run of himself on this one. He influences a lot people, and he couldn't have done more for Brendan McCann if he was on the payroll.

Freddie59

merlante wrote:

I noticed that. He has a lot of time for Brendan McCann too. There last week he said something along the lines of, "Brendan McCann is like the one little voice that speaks up against the normal run of things/establishment..." type of thing. In other words, he admires the man. And this is the guy they get to host the debate. Of course he is also the director of programmes at the station... Pity Liz Ready wasn't allowed do it, given that she's one of the few people you get on WLR that can actually speak properly, and has no obvious biases.

McCarthy has lost the run of himself on this one. He influences a lot people, and he couldn't have done more for Brendan McCann if he was on the payroll.

I would agree wholeheartedly with you. That man has been at this for years. He always goes on about being 'devil's advocate' but he is unable to come across as an unbiased reporter or host.

If you're in theatre, books, etc then you're away. But if you happen to be on the side of something he doesn't agree with, it usually ends up with 'we're right up on time' after a short period. But, again, this brings up the issue of no LOCAL competition for WLRFM. In effect they have TWO licences (Beat included). Surely this cannot be right?

I would take issue with you on the matter of speaking. Correct me if wrong, but are you against local accents or do you mean that Liz is a better interviewer?

merlante

Freddie59 wrote:

I would agree wholeheartedly with you. That man has been at this for years. He always goes on about being 'devil's advocate' but he is unable to come across as an unbiased reporter or host.

If you're in theatre, books, etc then you're away. But if you happen to be on the side of something he doesn't agree with, it usually ends up with 'we're right up on time' after a short period. But, again, this brings up the issue of no LOCAL competition for WLRFM. In effect they have TWO licences (Beat included). Surely this cannot be right?

I would take issue with you on the matter of speaking. Correct me if wrong, but are you against local accents or do you mean that Liz is a better interviewer?

Radio licenses are heavily restricted in this country, and I'm not exactly sure why. WLR have a license for a local station and a regional station: you can't even have two local stations. It's a pity we don't have a pirate station to compete with it. A lot of stations, such as WLR, start out as pirates and then go legit. The lack of competition is a problem all right.

I have no problem with accents at all, but a lot of the people they get on the show could do with a course in public speaking. They are after all public representatives and journalists, etc. (they could also do with a course in logic and rhetoric, but that's another story entirely!) Billy McCarthy has some sort of speech impediment, and I don't want to pick on him, but very often the combination of speech impediments and very thick, poorly enunciated accents/speaking makes it hard to figure out what's being said. In short, I don't think having a Waterford accent is hard to understand if people are speaking properly.

Liz Ready has a Waterford accent that is very easy to understand, (i.e. radio friendly) and she would have been less biased. I don't think there is a truly great interviewer on the station, though. Nobody that could handle Cullen, for example.

Freddie59

merlante wrote:

Radio licenses are heavily restricted in this country, and I'm not exactly sure why. WLR have a license for a local station and a regional station: you can't even have two local stations. It's a pity we don't have a pirate station to compete with it. A lot of stations, such as WLR, start out as pirates and then go legit. The lack of competition is a problem all right.

I have no problem with accents at all, but a lot of the people they get on the show could do with a course in public speaking. They are after all public representatives and journalists, etc. (they could also do with a course in logic and rhetoric, but that's another story entirely!) Billy McCarthy has some sort of speech impediment, and I don't want to pick on him, but very often the combination of speech impediments and very thick, poorly enunciated accents/speaking makes it hard to figure out what's being said. In short, I don't think having a Waterford accent is hard to understand if people are speaking properly.

Liz Ready has a Waterford accent that is very easy to understand, (i.e. radio friendly) and she would have been less biased. I don't think there is a truly great interviewer on the station, though. Nobody that could handle Cullen, for example.

I wouldn't exactly class Liz's accent as being representative of Waterford accent - more the the mid-atlantic drone that seems to be a condition of employment at radio stations nowadays. Tony Weldon and Eddie Wymberry are a hell of a lot closer to a Waterford accent than Liz will ever be!

I don't think there are many great interviewers ANYWHERE! Matt Cooper on Today FM is representative of the more ignorant type (in the Billy mould) who ask a question, and before the interviewee has answered, are already asking the next one in a very badgering type of fashion. His interview yersterday with Cullen is a classic example of this.

Our man in Havana

Are there no pirate stations left in waterford now?

col o

I am one of the people mentioned in a pasted transcript from the News & Star in a previous post by Bards. I attended the meeting in the Manor School held by Brendan McCann. I am in support of the Shopping centre and was one of small minority in attendance at the meeting. I drove down from Dublin to attend this so I could witness for myself the type of people who seem to be involved in the constant objections to developments and infrastructures that seem to be occurring in Waterford.

For a start there seemed to be a significant element from the SVAG (Save Viking Waterford Action Group).Then there was elderly residents from the Alexander St/New St Area which in my opinion are the only ones who have a legitimate reason for resisting this development. There seemed to be a grouping of people who I recognised as members of the workers party (I think).I only think this because I see some of them selling Socialist Worker newspapers around the city. There were various other "bohemian" type characters in the room. Also present were various business people and one or two residents of the City Centre/Inner City who were in favour of it.

For the past seven years I have worked in the Dublin Area. I check the News & Star and Munster express website religiously every week to keep up with what is going on in my native City. In the years 1999-2006 there have been hundreds of thousands of jobs created in this country especially in the high tech sector and usually announced with great fanfare in the National media. Practically none of these have gone to Waterford with the exception of Genzyme and Nypro which lasted a grand total of 14months.The largest announcements in the South East have been 800 jobs in Kilkenny and 1000 in Guidant in Clonmel. When jobs are created in Waterford they are rarely in the hundreds. In Cork, Limerick Galway and Smaller towns they have often been in the thousands.

This I have found to be a depressing state of affairs. This has gradually turned to anger when I see Brendan Mc Canns name attached to every single development announced for Waterford. This has been without fail. It has been to the extent that when the Brewery development application was announced, I could guarantee to myself that he would lodge an objection. The reason I feel so offended about this is as follows. Hand in Hand with the Celtic Tiger jobs there have been huge private business developments in nearly every large and medium town in Ireland, Many of these have been priced in the region of 50million up to 250million Euros. For many years there have been little or no announcements for Waterford. Now that there is we have the likes of Brendan McCann potentially holding them up for years. Added to this we have our fisherman’s friends from Wexford doing the same with the North Quays for there own interests.

Now I am reluctant to mention that Brendan Mc Cann is from Galway and the fishing boats on the North Quays are from Wexford. My own parents are from Cork and Dublin and the repugnant term “blow ins” was used to label them many years ago. However I do wonder if his raison d’etre would be so intense if he was back in Galway. Especially now that it has leaped ahead of Waterford in the urban hierarchy.
At this point I should say when I attended WIT Brendan McCann lectured me and I found him to be decent and civil.

It is my opinion that many of the people who attended McCanns meeting in support of his objections were fairly well established in life. In other words they won’t be depending on the brewery complex to provide them with a job. One or two others had businesses in the area. Perhaps they don’t welcome the competition. When I put forward my argument I stated that Waterford was becoming a backwater in the retail stakes. A female attendee sitting behind me contradicted my argument with the following statement,” Waterford isn’t a backwater. We have enough shops. I love to shop as well but we don’t need this”

I stood aghast at the simplicity of her argument. She didn’t seem concerned about the tens of millions of Euros being spent in Cork and Dublin by Waterford people who are attracted by the larger variety of Dublin/Corks retail pool. Then again why would she when her own family are well off due to selling land to developers in a certain part of the city that would have yielded millions of Euros.Others hailed the amenities that were lost with the Park in Railway Square and Wyse Park. They seemed to have forgotten that these were simply reservations for Wino’s.

The point of my diatribe is this. I have gotten sick of reading and talking about McCann and his endeavours. That is why I attended the meeting in the Manor School.
I would encourage anyone who reads this to attend the second meeting at 800pm on Monday 30TH January in the old Manor School. Make your displeasure be known. If you miss the meeting don’t worry you will no doubt get another chance. The Alternative is to allow people some with dubious agendas deny our city of vital infrastructure. I would also suggest sending letters into the three city newspapers and the phoenix column of the News & Star.

You may have ideas of your own of which I would be glad to hear. In my opinion Brendan McCann whatever his agenda is a menace. He and some of the loony fringe elements that follow him around are dragging Waterford down in the dirt and sending us back to Hicksville in comparison with every other town In Ireland. He can only be countered if people are vocal about there displeasure and make it known to Brendan McCann and Co.[/B]

Bards

Totally agree 100% with what you have to say... I for one will try and attend on the 30th...anyone else going?

meldrew

Well said and keep up the good work , I'm ashamed to say I did'nt go to the last meeting and you travelled all the way down from Dublin for it , I'm not surprised at the attendence there apart from the local people who it really affects its the usual rabble of naysayers who are against everything and who we seem to have a lot more of in Waterford than anywhere else .
The next thing we know they'll be organising marches against it

deisemum

Unfortunately I cannot make tomorrow night due to a prior arrangement which also includes the next 2 Monday nights. He has his own agenda. Why didn't he object to GMIT when they built that ugly extension? What an eyesore when you're entering Galway. I agree about having to travel if you want to do some decent shopping. Waterford shopping has improved but it's way behind the rest of the cities.

Please post the date of the next meeting that is arranged. Those in favour of the development will have to speak up so people will see that it's not only those against the development that attend. As the Waterford News and Star are in favour of this development they will probably give a more balanced report of the meeting than wlrfm

Freddie59

col o wrote:

You may have ideas of your own of which I would be glad to hear. In my opinion Brendan McCann whatever his agenda is a menace. He and some of the loony fringe elements that follow him around are dragging Waterford down in the dirt and sending us back to Hicksville in comparison with every other town In Ireland. He can only be countered if people are vocal about there displeasure and make it known to Brendan McCann and Co.[/B]

I must say that I for one am embarrassed by the fact that you travelled such a distance and people like me didn't attend. Yes they are sending us back to Hicksville. The people you mention who are handing out leaflets are on every bandwagon in Waterford - for everything and against everything. I sometimes think they don't even know what they're handing out leaflets for!:mad:

lostexpectation

you may be annoyed by McCann busy bodiness but IMHO you little to worry about as far as I've seen objections like this ( where there doesn't seem to a MAJOR problem) only manage to maybe knock a floor off the height of a tall buidling or reduce the size of a place by 5% im sure you'll get your shopping centre soon enough.

merlante

lostexpectation wrote:

you may be annoyed by McCann busy bodiness but IMHO you little to worry about as far as I've seen objections like this ( where there doesn't seem to a MAJOR problem) only manage to maybe knock a floor off the height of a tall buidling or reduce the size of a place by 5% im sure you'll get your shopping centre soon enough.

That's what I'm afraid of. He took a floor off, or 3 screens off, the new cinema being built in Railway Square. Bastard.

merlante

col o wrote:

I am one of the people mentioned in a pasted transcript from the News & Star in a previous post by Bards. I attended the meeting in the Manor School held by Brendan McCann. I am in support of the Shopping centre and was one of small minority in attendance at the meeting. I drove down from Dublin to attend this so I could witness for myself the type of people who seem to be involved in the constant objections to developments and infrastructures that seem to be occurring in Waterford.

Very well said!

I've been living in Dublin for 9 years, and I have made all the self same observations as yourself about what is happening to Waterford. (I intent to head back in a years time though) And the **** that comes out of a lot of Waterford people's mouths are not doing us any good. I have been vociferous on the subject of Brendan McCann here, and other places, before. It seems that there is good awareness of McCann and the damage he is doing on the internet; here people seem to be more up to speed on current affairs and are often exiled from the city for one reason or another, so they keep an eye in the national media for mention of Waterford. If you're feeling masochistic, why not become a reader of the Irish Times.

Well done for heading down from Dublin. Your presence was felt by the looks of things.

lostexpectation

merlante wrote:

That's what I'm afraid of. He took a floor off, or 3 screens off, the new cinema being built in Railway Square. Bastard.

what harm did that do, did it reduce the quality of or diversity films shown there. I seriously doubt it.

and was really him that did that?

Trotter

lostexpectation wrote:

what harm did that do, did it reduce the quality of or diversity films shown there. I seriously doubt it.

and was really him that did that?

Well.. it would have reduced the frequency of the films, and therefore reduced the service, making it less flexible for customers.

And yes.. he was the main whinger that caused the trouble.

col o

The problem is guys that Mc Cann and his followers can only agree on one thing.

Objection.

If you ask them what should go there instead you will hear forty differnt voices that can't agree.

People at the meeting get about two opertunities to raise their points.Therefore those for the development at the last meeting got to raise about six points.

At the last meetig their was the usual soundbites by Socialist party heads like,"fat cat developers" and "capitalist"

You can say that the best McCann can hope for is to get a floor taken off the structure.That will condemn us to mediocre building projects in the city.In the example give of the cinema it will be three screens.

The cinema is a great example.A guy told me last week that the crowd who run the present cinema will run the one in Railway Square.This will be good if they diversify their schedules.
It will be bad if they just transfer operations.It will mean still just one shabbilly run cinema in Waterford.

Do not underestimate the damage McCann is doing.He is turning Waterford into a place more like Tullamore or Mullingar than Galway.This suits him and his followers.

The Save Viking Waterford Group will get plenty of airtime at the meeting.Especially since the person chairing is a member of the group.The keep quoting York as an example Waterford could follow.The fail to mentio that York has the largest medieval cathedral in Europe which rivals Notre Dame.Also a lot more of Yorks medieval walls are intact.

The thing is we can sit down pick up the paper and grumble among ourselves when we read about McCann.This won't stop him.I am not suggesting breaking up his meetings or whacking the guy either.However if there were more people at the meeting making their distaste known.The media will pick up on it and it will encourage others.Send a couple of letters in to the Newspapers,All of them(The Munster is strangely Quiet on the issue).This will encourage others to get involved.At the moment it is just people like the chamber of commerce which of course will be accused of being pro-capitalist.

Please go if you can or spread the word.If enough voices are heard we may be able to drown out these Lunatics.

merlante

lostexpectation wrote:

what harm did that do, did it reduce the quality of or diversity films shown there. I seriously doubt it.

and was really him that did that?

Yes, Cineworld in Dublin has something like 15 screens, all of them are either being cleaned or being used at all times. This means that a cinema can show about 10 films at any given time. Check Cineworld, Dublin on entertainment.ie. Compare it to the Waterford Cinema, which *should* be the biggest and best cinema in the south east. The current one has 6 screens! The new one will have 8. 8 is very different from 11. 11 would mean we could show 8 films at once. There are about 10 good films circulating cinemas at any given time; that includes 2/3 arthouse/foreign films. Waterford gets 0 arthouse/foreign films and misses out on other, perfectly mainstream films, such as Brokeback Mountain, which the whole english speaking world is talking about, but which (apparently) will not even be shown in Waterford!

I've even known people to travel from Waterford to Dublin for big film releases. I am very disappointed at these rumours that the useless crowd who are running the old cinema will get the new one, because they have no standards.

And yes, it was sheerly the McCann factor that got the cinema reduced in size.

col o

merlante wrote:

Very well said And the **** that comes out of a lot of Waterford people's mouths are not doing us any good. I have been vociferous on the subject of Brendan McCann here, and other places, before. It seems that there is good awareness of McCann and the damage he is doing on the internet; here people seem to be more up to speed on current affairs and are often exiled from the city for one reason or another, so they keep an eye in the national media for mention of Waterford. If you're feeling masochistic, why not become a reader of the Irish Times.

Well done for heading down from Dublin. Your presence was felt by the looks of things.

I agree with this statement.A lot of people in Waterford don't seem to be able to think outside the box.I remember a city cllr Halligan of the Workers Party involved in objecting to the student village on the ring road.The basis of his objection was that "high rise developments" had a history of social problems.This was a spin on the "Ballymun tupe ghetto" as if the two were comparable.

There is also a guy who I went to school with who is now the prominent trade union spokespan for Waterford making speeches about bringing Waterford to it's knees.This was at one of the Radiotherapy protests. What an advertisement to attrack foreign investment.Waterford has an uphill battle if people like this are in positions of influence.

Could you explain the Irish Times thing in Referance to Waterford.I cannot find any but I am aware of the D4 bubble they live in.

lostexpectation

merlante wrote:

Yes, Cineworld in Dublin has something like 15 screens, all of them are either being cleaned or being used at all times. This means that a cinema can show about 10 films at any given time. Check Cineworld, Dublin on entertainment.ie. Compare it to the Waterford Cinema, which *should* be the biggest and best cinema in the south east. The current one has 6 screens! The new one will have 8. 8 is very different from 11. 11 would mean we could show 8 films at once. There are about 10 good films circulating cinemas at any given time; that includes 2/3 arthouse/foreign films. Waterford gets 0 arthouse/foreign films and misses out on other, perfectly mainstream films, such as Brokeback Mountain, which the whole english speaking world is talking about, but which (apparently) will not even be shown in Waterford!

the diversity and quality of films shown has very little to do with the number of screens in a multiplex... oh looky here, a disagreement with distributors

now if McCann had got on to the distributors .... http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=50788501#post50788501