Does Ennis need another Shopping Centre?

Clareboy

I read in this week's Clare Champion that there are plans for a new shopping centre for the Clare Road in Ennis. I feel that Ennis needs a new shopping centre like it needs the proverbial ' hole in the head '. The streets of our county capital are littered with empty shop units and the town is surrounded by half finished and abandoned retail developements. This unviable and unnecessary project is going to cost €34 million to construct. I wonder where the money is going to come from. Borrowed from some bank no doubt. Of course the promoters of this project are crowing about the ' 200 new jobs'. What kind of jobs and jobs for whom - I would love to find out.

On Thursday Nov. 3rd, the promotors of the project are having a public exhibition at the Temple Gate. I think that the people of Ennis should go down there and tell them where to go with their shopping centre. Its this kind of reckless investment that has destroyed our economy. Enough is Enough! Will they ever Learn! There is absolutely no need or demand for any more retail developement in Ennis!

roashter

No, it most definitely does not need a new shopping centre.

Hawk Wing 2

No, the town is well catered for, maybe if one of the other ones were relocating maybe

Shapey Fiend

Some people think the town is too jammed and it'd be better off having everything in retail parks half a mile out. I say the hell with that. These retail parks are really unfriendly for independent shops which is pretty much the main thing Ennis has going for itself now.

MyKeyG

Hawk Wing 2 wrote: »

No, the town is well catered for, maybe if one of the other ones were relocating maybe

Wasn't it in the horses mouth a few years ago that Tesco were going to relocate to the Clare road to encourage the expansion of the commercial town? To be honest I like them being side by side, if you can't find something in one you can check another.

If anything they should have built the Lidl/Aldi (I can't remember which one is across from Tesco) on the Clare road.

Clareman

Isn't it Tesco that are looking to move out? More to do with the fact that the place they are in now is falling apart than anything else.

Mrsbrady

its a pity that they cant try and come up with more initiatives to bring people in to the town and use the shops that are there at the moment and are struggling to stay afloat. then think about adding more shops/centres if they feel there's a need for them!!

Carry

The original article in the Clare Champion about this shopping centre:
http://www.clarechampion.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7933:ennis-builder-says-shopping-centre-would-not-hit-town-&catid=63:business&Itemid=60

Now, I wouldn't be opposed as such against a new shopping centre around town - if it actually would improve the shopping opportunities in Ennis. I.e. a centre which could compete with Galway or Limerick and not with Ennis itself.

But another supermarket certainly isn't necessary, especially with the same old shops. Mr. Lynch is clearly hanging on to his original idea of an ever expanding town with even more rubbish shops (no offence to the existing ones). Tesco apparantly pulled out, maybe they could improve their existing shop? It's a badly managed shambles anyway.

The situation in town with so many empty shops is certainly not owed to big supermarkets. At least not in Ennis. We can thank greedy landlords and an even greedier CoCo for it. I truly miss some of the small shops which are closed by now. I always loved to browse around just to see what's on offer and to enjoy the diversity. In a small town it's a pleasure to discover little shops with things you never knew you needed...

So if you go and protest against this shopping centre, offer alternatives instead of naked opposition. That Lynch guy might see sense (though I doubt it with his investment and mindset) that not another same old same old is needed, but an innovative concept.

For example: I would like to see a centre with some Highstreet branches, maybe some inexpensive fashion shops, neither Pennys nor boutique-style, where you get good quality clothing (and decent woollen socks for the winter ). Or shops with household stuff, like good pure cotton bed linens or practical but trendy lamps&lights - and a big choice of all of it.

Just my two cents.

Sonz

Clareman wrote: »

Isn't it Tesco that are looking to move out? More to do with the fact that the place they are in now is falling apart than anything else.

That's exactly what i thought too.

PARKHEAD67

Tesco can build their "thing" if they want. Ill still go to aldi and lidl. German efficiency at German prices.

lab man

Carry wrote: »

The original article in the Clare Champion about this shopping centre:
http://www.clarechampion.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7933:ennis-builder-says-shopping-centre-would-not-hit-town-&catid=63:business&Itemid=60

Now, I wouldn't be opposed as such against a new shopping centre around town - if it actually would improve the shopping opportunities in Ennis. I.e. a centre which could compete with Galway or Limerick and not with Ennis itself.

But another supermarket certainly isn't necessary, especially with the same old shops. Mr. Lynch is clearly hanging on to his original idea of an ever expanding town with even more rubbish shops (no offence to the existing ones). Tesco apparantly pulled out, maybe they could improve their existing shop? It's a badly managed shambles anyway.

The situation in town with so many empty shops is certainly not owed to big supermarkets. At least not in Ennis. We can thank greedy landlords and an even greedier CoCo for it. I truly miss some of the small shops which are closed by now. I always loved to browse around just to see what's on offer and to enjoy the diversity. In a small town it's a pleasure to discover little shops with things you never knew you needed...

So if you go and protest against this shopping centre, offer alternatives instead of naked opposition. That Lynch guy might see sense (though I doubt it with his investment and mindset) that not another same old same old is needed, but an innovative concept.

For example: I would like to see a centre with some Highstreet branches, maybe some inexpensive fashion shops, neither Pennys nor boutique-style, where you get good quality clothing (and decent woollen socks for the winter ). Or shops with household stuff, like good pure cotton bed linens or practical but trendy lamps&lights - and a big choice of all of it.

Just my two cents.

what about the likes of jimmy brohans the likes of this shop is the real ennis i think, tesco only want to get petrol pumps in etc, then the town is shagged for sure!!

PARKHEAD67

lab man wrote: »

what about the likes of jimmy brohans the likes of this shop is the real ennis i think, tesco only want to get petrol pumps in etc, then the town is shagged for sure!!

Exactly.The small shops would be decimated.

Carry

Rubbish.
Brohan's will survive because it's unique, as would other speciality shops, if they wouldn't be strangled by outrageous rents and such like.

You don't want to tell me that Tesco or, say, Debenhams, is competition for Brohan's or such like?

It's one thing to support the small and unique local business, but another thing to think beyond the shortsighted clannish planning.

A town like Ennis should try to grab business from the next big towns. And who of you doesn't go shopping in Limerick/Shannon/Galway? And why?
See.

There is no vision for the development of Ennis.
If I had a say, and I'm not a businesshead just a customer, I would support small individuell business in the town centre and big retail at the edge of town. People would rush to Ennis instead to Lim/Gal if there were any choice.

And I would support the pedestrianation of Ennis town centre, because small shops are worth browsing through, while shopping centres at the edge of town are purpose shopping. As a driver you just rush trough town in search of a parking space and miss a lot of exploring.

But apparantly there are no planners to think beyond the usual "20 jobs created".
It's about vision not about everyones backyard.

CptSternn

There are good arguments to be made on both sides here.

First, I think it will draw business from the town centre which will hurt the town.

Then again, as it has been said, who doesn't go to Limerick to shop these days anyway?

The problem is the Ennis town centre has everything working against it right now. Due to upwards only rent schemes empty shops will stay empty. You can't get a shop in town for a decent price, one that would be needed to keep a business open as the rent will kill you. I have a friend who is looking for a shop front and has told me many times that each time they go to speak with a realtor about getting a space they are told they cannot lower the rent as it is set. Small businesses have no chance affording the space currently empty in the town centre.

Add on to that high rates businesses pay and you now have priced all small businesses out of the town centre. Until these issues are addressed, there will be a lack of small businesses opening in Ennis and more will close.

At the same time the new shopping centre will be able to offer cheaper rent due to the fact they have just been built and can come in with a decent offer on rent. This might encourage new shops to open and then create a local market for things people usually travel to Limerick to buy. That would be good, but it would further along the death of the town centre.

At the end of the day the town centre is basically doomed since the local politicians are entrenched and refuse to do anything. To be fair, if they did try something and it failed they would be branded as the person who caused the mess, even though that is not true, but none of the local politicians wants to stick their neck out so they all just maintain the status quo to keep their respective jobs. It's sad, but until someone addresses the issues or the town elects someone willing to risk their political future to help the town nothing will happen.

I also still support the idea of pedastrianising the town. They should fill O'Connell street with paving stones like Parnell, make it a nice outdoor shopping area and try to attract bigger shops like Argos to the town. That would be my idea of hoe to help until they find a solution to the issues surrounding rent and rates.

I think a partial solution to the rates problem is already in the works - aren't they cutting the number of local politicians in Clare? That is a good start sure.

Lady Chatterton

I would love to see a decent shopping centre in Ennis but my main concern is that if you have lots of development in the outskirts of the town it might result in nothing happening in the centre.

Limerick has lots of great retail parks but the city centre is now empty on Saturday afternoons, it has completely lost its buzz and atmosphere, the place is souless. It is quite sad to see. I'd hate for Ennis go down the same road. Ennis used to be a great town, with some decent planning it could be again.

littlesthobo

There was an article recently in one of the Clare papers mentioning all the empty retail units in town. A plan should be devised to put to use what we have rather than building another development.Building a massive new Tesco will be of no benefit to Ennis and in the long term will do more harm than good.

Clareman

littlesthobo wrote: »

There was an article recently in one of the Clare papers mentioning all the empty retail units in town. A plan should be devised to put to use what we have rather than building another development.Building a massive new Tesco will be of no benefit to Ennis and in the long term will do more harm than good.

I don't know that building a new Tesco would be a bad thing, there's over 100 people working there at the moment, I was speaking to someone who works there and they told me the plan would be to move Penny's into where Tesco is now and open a Tesco Express where Penny's is, that would lead to a lot more jobs as well as more shopping options, Mrs. Clareman often goes into Penny's in the Crescent cause it's a lot better than the 1 in town.

Also, just look at things from Tesco's POV, they have a shop that's over 30 years old that's falling apart, with a car park that can barely cover staff parking as well as the fact that if there's a match in the Park you can't get near the place. Dunnes has recently been renovated, Tesco wants to do the same.

Sonz

Also if tesco did move, they would provide more stock rather than have to order online which has to come from Limerick.

Balagan

If the planned new shopping centre had a good big Tesco properly stocked, managed and run, (and with the same excellent check out staff) I'd be in favour of it. I don't think we need worry that other shops in the shopping centre would affect the Ennis town centre shops much for the simple reason that there wouldn't be any other shops there. Witness Coonagh. But if Tesco has pulled out of its plan to go that new site, then forget about it.

Battleflag

Sonz wrote: »

Also if tesco did move, they would provide more stock rather than have to order online which has to come from Limerick.

Online shopping for Clare comes from the Ennis store

Sonz

Strange... theres been stuff i've ordered online that hasn't been in tescos in ennis.

Callan57

I think it would absolutely destroy the town .... just look at the city centre in Limerick to see what would happen. Definitely the cost of & lack of parking needs to be addressed in Ennis but I'd be completely against another out of town shopping centre.

willow tree

yeah i asked the delivery guy and he said that the stuff comes from tesco limerick..maybe it depends which part of clare you are in?
also i was watching a documentary and it said that people think that shopping centres provide jobs but its been shown that they actually take jobs away from towns in the long run(the doc was talking a lot about tesco and how unethical it is).. interesting. i prefer to support local shops, thats the best way to occupy dame st as they say. they should be developing the town:)

littlesthobo

willow tree wrote: »

i was watching a documentary and it said that people think that shopping centres provide jobs but its been shown that they actually take jobs away from towns in the long run(the doc was talking a lot about tesco and how unethical it is).. interesting. i prefer to support local shops, thats the best way to occupy dame st as they say. they should be developing the town:)

http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/the_tesco_takeover.pdf

Interesting article here along the same lines

littlesthobo

Clareman wrote: »

I don't know that building a new Tesco would be a bad thing, there's over 100 people working there at the moment, I was speaking to someone who works there and they told me the plan would be to move Penny's into where Tesco is now and open a Tesco Express where Penny's is, that would lead to a lot more jobs as well as more shopping options, Mrs. Clareman often goes into Penny's in the Crescent cause it's a lot better than the 1 in town.

Also, just look at things from Tesco's POV, they have a shop that's over 30 years old that's falling apart, with a car park that can barely cover staff parking as well as the fact that if there's a match in the Park you can't get near the place. Dunnes has recently been renovated, Tesco wants to do the same.

Agree with you on the parking situation, not about the jobs. See link in previous post regards the virtues of a new out of town Tesco, particularly the following

"Tesco claims to create more jobs but the figures do not add up. In 2004, UK small grocery shops had a turnover of around £21 billion and employed more than 500,000 whilst Tesco, with a £29bn turnover, employed just 250,000 people. As retail sales grow, retail jobs have not grown so fast."

willow tree

documentary on this very subject on rte right now, should be on rte player, so worth a watch.. interesting and sad

Lady Chatterton

willow tree wrote: »

documentary on this very subject on rte right now, should be on rte player, so worth a watch.. interesting and sad

Yeah, I've just been watching it, it was really interesting. For anyone who is interested, it is called "What's Ireland Eating", it should be up on the RTE Player shortly. The last 30 minutes was given over to the issue of supermarkets and how small towns and food producers are affected by them.

I do most of my shopping in Nenagh and approximately a year and a half ago Tesco opened a new Tesco Extra Store, since opening O'Connors Supermarket and Supervalu have closed and Dunnes never seems busy anymore. I loved Supervalu in Nenagh, they stocked lots of local produce but they just couldn't compete with Tesco, the same is true of O'Connors. Tesco is one of the few places in Nenagh that is doing a thriving trade now.

Balagan

There's a truly weird article/letter to the editor in today's Clare People from Seamus Lynch about the new development. According to him, there will be 'a foodstore' on the Clare road site and "a purpose built community building to house a much needed new library that will be handed to Ennis Town Council free of charge and a new office building for Michael Lynch Ltd." There are references to Tesco in this strange article/letter including a claim that the present Tesco will not be closing but absolutely nowhere does it state that the 'foodstore' will be Tesco. It states that there will be no individual retail units. It refers to this development as a 'District Centre'.

What the hell?

Clareman

I was trying to think of any indepentantly owned SuperMarkets in town and I can't, I don't mean O'Dowd's or somewhere like that, more somewhere you can do you weekly shop, like Hanrahan's or Knox's (gwad I'm old) use to offer

Lady Chatterton

Balagan wrote: »

There's a truly weird article/letter to the editor in today's Clare People from Seamus Lynch about the new development. According to him, there will be 'a foodstore' on the Clare road site and "a purpose built community building to house a much needed new library that will be handed to Ennis Town Council free of charge and a new office building for Michael Lynch Ltd." There are references to Tesco in this strange article/letter including a claim that the present Tesco will not be closing but absolutely nowhere does it state that the 'foodstore' will be Tesco. It states that there will be no individual retail units. It refers to this development as a 'District Centre'.

What the hell?

God, that reminds me of all the fun and games over the Post Office Field years ago.

Lady Chatterton

Clareman wrote: »

I was trying to think of any indepentantly owned SuperMarkets in town and I can't, I don't mean O'Dowd's or somewhere like that, more somewhere you can do you weekly shop, like Hanrahan's or Knox's (gwad I'm old) use to offer

In the documentary tonight, the presenter was making the point that large stores like Tesco Extra can adversely affect other businesses in a small town because of the massive range of extra products they offer for sale - computers, petrol, clothing, gardening products, stationery, flowers, toys etc.......

Lady Chatterton

What Ireland's Eating? is now on the RTE Player, the feature on supermarkets starts about 28 mins (approx) in.


http://www.rte.ie/player/#!v=1119758

Lady Chatterton

littlesthobo wrote: »

There was an article recently in one of the Clare papers mentioning all the empty retail units in town. A plan should be devised to put to use what we have rather than building another development.Building a massive new Tesco will be of no benefit to Ennis and in the long term will do more harm than good.

I found a link to that Clare Champion Story -

http://www.clarechampion.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7629:ghost-shopping-fears-for-ennis&catid=90:planning&Itemid=60

‘Ghost’ shopping fears for Ennis

Written by Dan Danaher

AN alarming increase in commercial vacancies in Ennis Town Centre has prompted a groundswell of opposition from local traders against the proposed development of a superstore on the outskirts of the town.

A recent survey conducted by Ennis Chamber of premises in the town centre, excluding Parson’s Quay, revealed the vacancy rate, which stands at 44 premises, has jumped from 6% in 2002 to 15.3% earlier this month, a level business leaders have warned is not sustainable in the medium to long term.
Concern over low occupancy rates in commercial premises is one of the reasons why Ennis Chamber, the Ennis Development Forum, local traders and some councillors have united to oppose a controversial proposed variation to the Ennis and Environs Development Plan to facilitate a major 7,000m2 retail development with 610 car parking spaces on the Limerick Road.

Promoters of this development, who expect to have Tesco as the anchor tenant, estimate it could generate over 300 construction jobs and up to 200 permanent posts in the food store alone.

However, Ennis Chamber has cited research conducted on out-of-town developments, which indicated for every two jobs created in these enterprises, up to three jobs are lost in town-centre businesses.

Traders are concerned this new development, with direct access off the Ennis Bypass, could attract shoppers from a 10 or 15-mile radius of the town to a superstore without stopping off to do any business in the town centre.
They also fear the new district centre could prove to be as big as the retail size of Kilrush or be the equivalent of one third of the existing retail space in Ennis Town Centre.

A comprehensive presentation of the possible “doughnut” impact of a large foodstore at Limerick Road, Ennis by chartered architect and regional planner, Michael Leahy and other business leaders is expected to generate heated debate at a public meeting organised by Ennis Chamber in the Old Ground Hotel, Ennis next Tuesday night at 6.15pm.

In a wide ranging analysis of the proposed variation on behalf of Ennis Chamber, Mr Leahy warned the significant contradiction of key planning policies and aspects of the rest of the development plan, if the proposed modifications proceed, could leave the planning authority open to the possibility of “legal action or judicial review”.

“The adoption of the proposed modifications would introduce a significant element of self-contradiction into the development plan, which may well call its validity into question,” he said.

He said vacancy rates over 15% are being experienced in Ennis at present at a time when the total retail stock of Ennis and Clare doubled between the year 2002 and 2009.

He warned the proposal for additional land for extra retail space at a time of high vacancy levels flies in the face of common sense and could lead to “ghost” shopping areas in Ennis Town Centre.

“The ‘doughnut effect’, whereby town centres are hollowed out because of their inability to compete with edge-of-town shopping centres, is well recorded. It has its most devastating effects after the tide of an economic boom has gone out when the overall market shrinks significantly.

“This can be seen operating in the Cruise’s Street development in Limerick, which is now suffering a significant vacancy rate due to its inability to compete with the Parkway and Dooradoyle shopping centres.

“It clearly makes no sense to zone additional land, which would inevitably be for the benefit of a multinational retailer with no commitment to long-term employment in the Ennis area and no commitment to the maintenance of the town centre as a viable and attractive magnet for shoppers and for tourists,” he stated.

Mr Leahy pointed out local authorities are required to incorporate “core strategies” in their development plans, which places a strong emphasis on the protection of the central historic centres of towns like Ennis. This strategy also places a strong emphasis on the importance of a sequential test to assess the impact of out-of-town developments on the centre of towns.

He claimed the dispensing of the sequential test in the proposed modification is one of the inherent contradictions, which equates to a material contravention.
Commenting on a Strategic Environmental Assessment conducted in 2008, Mr Leahy noted the site on the Limerick Road was characterised as being one of extreme groundwater vulnerability, while it was classified as “Flood Zone A”, an area of high risk of flooding in the most recent flooding maps of Ennis and its environs.

He stated the creation of a new significantly-sized shopping area could involve the creation of an alternative competitor to Ennis town centre located out of the centre.

If a “district centre” is built to comply with Government guidelines, he warned this could potentially ruin the retail balance within Ennis, where there was already an overprovision of shopping space.

Michael Lynch Limited has applied to Ennis Town Council for a major commercial development on the 5.22 hectare site.
The local planning authority issued a request for further information to address a number of its concerns earlier this year and following the granting of a three-month extension, the developers now have up to November 30 to submit the necessary information.

A separate planning application has been made by Michael Lynch for the demolition of two houses on the Limerick Road to create alternative vehicular and pedestrian access to the site.

In documents lodged with the planning authority, Dublin-based planning consultants DPP state the proposal will make a “positive contribution not only to the urban fabric of the town, but also through the social benefits which will accrue, which include lasting local jobs for local people.”

CptSternn

Thats a good article but it does seem to gloss over a bit of the issue which is why the problem persists.

The local council is becoming more and more obsolete. To combat this they have implemented a policy of doing nothing as to not get tagged with any of the problems out there which could cause them to lose their jobs. So we have high rates based on old math that supports a lot of do-nothing politicians who mainly focus on keeping their seats and not on helping our community.

We have rent that is outrageous and disproportional to the local economy due to bad legislation and corrupt banking practices which came home to roost as we know a few years ago.

Until we get rid of these politicians and someone takes on the banks to allow property owners to lower rent in Ennis town this problem will not be solved.

New businesses cannot afford to setup shop in Ennis town. The rent and rates are at the point you need a few thousand a week in walk-in customers just to break even. No businesses these days will ever have that. Even pubs today cannot expect that kind of foot traffic.

Therefore any person wanting to open a new business is forced to go towards new development on the outskirts of town as it is the only place they can afford. Sure it kills the town centre, but the other option is no new businesses open anywhere and the ones here slowly die anyway.

Businesses in town can't compete with new developments outside of town because they are locked into high rent and high rate deals which keep them from being competitive.

Focus should not be on stopping new people from setting up shops with reasonable prices outside of the town centre, the focus needs to be on lowering the rent and rates so shops in town can compete financially and new businesses can afford to open in the town centre. If you ask anyone with a business located outside the town centre now most all will tell you that they would love to relocate to the town centre, but financially it is not an option.

Arguing we have to stifle new business to protect old business which is burdened with a horrible business model is counterproductive.

We need real change, and if the local politicians are not willing to enact such change, we need new politicians. The problem seems to stem from the fact the old businesses are also scared for their future and use their ties to the local government to help stop any change, like we saw in the idea of pedestrianising the town centre.

So we are locked in a vicious cycle where new business is forced out of town and the businesses in town then complain about those new businesses and all the while the town gets worse.

We need a reduction in rates. We can start by cutting a few council members as we don't need that many anyway. Why they added a new one last election is beyond me, since they can't afford the ones we currently have. They need to cut their pay. When I lived in the states the local town councilors in many areas worked the job for free, as a badge of honour, in small towns where the budget was tight. Sometimes they would give them a small bonus if they were able to secure deals that filled the coffers, but other than that, no pay. Maybe we should look at a similar commission based council. They only get paid if they find cost savings or are able to secure deals that return on investment in our area.

The rent needs to drop. The idea that rent is directly tied to value needs to be removed. Property owners need to be able to cut the rent of places they own and not have to worry about its effects on the value. Banks need to allow this as well so property owners will be free to do so.

At the end of the day this whole issue rests on the shoulders of the council, and I for one don't think the current shower that are in there are up to the challenge of enacting any sort of change at all. So far all they have done is spend our tax money paying for a few celebrities to roll through and offer ideas that any first year business student would have already suggested. Thats not change, thats window dressing.

Maybe we should start naming a shaming them publicly more to force their hand. I mean seriously, can anyone else here tell me how many council members there are and who they are?

If we as a town want movement on this we must first start making those in charge of it accountable.

littlesthobo

Clareman wrote: »

I was trying to think of any indepentantly owned SuperMarkets in town and I can't, I don't mean O'Dowd's or somewhere like that, more somewhere you can do you weekly shop, like Hanrahan's or Knox's (gwad I'm old) use to offer

Ryans in Clonroadmore, or Liddy's on the Tulla road would be the two closest. They are with different symbol groups but would be independently owned. You pretty much have to be with one of the symbols nowadays to compete. Completely independent stores the likes of O Connors in Nenagh will struggle to survive, though Joyce's in Galway and JC's in Swords Dublin seem to do ok.

Shapey Fiend

littlesthobo wrote: »

Ryans in Clonroadmore, or Liddy's on the Tulla road would be the two closest. They are with different symbol groups but would be independently owned. You pretty much have to be with one of the symbols nowadays to compete. Completely independent stores the likes of O Connors in Nenagh will struggle to survive, though Joyce's in Galway and JC's in Swords Dublin seem to do ok.

Sure why does everything have to be under one roof? I go to the bakers for bread, butchers for meat, veg shop for vegetables then pick up a few odds and ends in Tesco or Aldi. I like having everything in the center because I can dash around them all in half an hour without having to drive to multiple outlets on the other side of town.

I'd rather be like Galway than Limerick. Pretty much everything is within 10 minutes walking distance and independent shops get a fair crack of the whip as well as the multinationals.

Lady Chatterton

littlesthobo wrote: »

Ryans in Clonroadmore, or Liddy's on the Tulla road would be the two closest. They are with different symbol groups but would be independently owned. You pretty much have to be with one of the symbols nowadays to compete. Completely independent stores the likes of O Connors in Nenagh will struggle to survive, though Joyce's in Galway and JC's in Swords Dublin seem to do ok.

Liddy's Gala Store in Roslevan is quite an nice store, it has won a number of awards, I also like Barry Lynch's Store in the new Gort Road Shopping Centre (Sheils).

Unfortunately, O'Connors in Nenagh closed down in May 2011 with a loss of 70 jobs.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0526/nenagh.html

Balagan

Worth mentioning that the Gort Road Shopping Complex has many units which were never taken.

Anyone going to the exhib of the Clare Road proposal in the Temple Gate tomorrow? It would be worth finding out what the one shopping concern proposed for there, the 'foodstore' will be.

Lady Chatterton

The average floorspace of Tesco's Irish stores are is around 60% larger than the UK equivalent, with an average floorspace of 23,915 sq ft in 2006. This gives it a market share of 26%.

Ireland’s retail market is currently expanding rapidly, and its retail laws have been relaxed (read more). This gives Tesco a major opportunity for expansion in a country close to the UK. In 2007, Tesco opened a new 740,000 sq ft distribution centre in Donabate, Dublin. In August 2007 Tesco announced a "substantially bigger" store opening programme for the following year, with 240,000 sq m representing a 10% growth.

This website makes for interesting reading

http://www.tescopoly.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=595&Itemid=193

cocochanel2011

Did any of you see the program on RTE last night called " What Ireland is eating"..OMG it was frightening to see what a big chain like TESCO can do to a Town. It has closed Nass and now it is going to close Ennis if this development goes ahead.
I was listening to Clare Fm this morning and they had a lunatic from TESCO on who says its going to create jobs, he needs to get real, it will not create jobs in the long run.The presenter seemed completely disturbed with Txts and emails he was receiving from certain Individuals who were pro this development . He would not read them out as he seemed to know where the origin of these msgs were coming from...Seems completely shady in my opinion.
The Councillors are being lobbyed by these Tesco cowboys to vote for this development on Monday.

We the public are more than entitled to sit in on these votes and I for one will be there to see how these Councillors are going to vote..Temple gate tommorow should be attended by all to see what way these guys are going to destroy our Town aren't they being pretty honest with us they are going to actually show us tommorow how they are going to destroy us. I also hear we are getting a FREE Library..We have a Library TESCO..I hope ye read this as I feel educated enough to know that there is no such thing as a free lunch!!!!!!

dr.fuzzenstein

CptSternn wrote: »

Thats a good article but it does seem to gloss over a bit of the issue which is why the problem persists.

The local council is becoming more and more obsolete. To combat this they have implemented a policy of doing nothing as to not get tagged with any of the problems out there which could cause them to lose their jobs. So we have high rates based on old math that supports a lot of do-nothing politicians who mainly focus on keeping their seats and not on helping our community.

We have rent that is outrageous and disproportional to the local economy due to bad legislation and corrupt banking practices which came home to roost as we know a few years ago.

Until we get rid of these politicians and someone takes on the banks to allow property owners to lower rent in Ennis town this problem will not be solved.

New businesses cannot afford to setup shop in Ennis town. The rent and rates are at the point you need a few thousand a week in walk-in customers just to break even. No businesses these days will ever have that. Even pubs today cannot expect that kind of foot traffic.

Therefore any person wanting to open a new business is forced to go towards new development on the outskirts of town as it is the only place they can afford. Sure it kills the town centre, but the other option is no new businesses open anywhere and the ones here slowly die anyway.

Businesses in town can't compete with new developments outside of town because they are locked into high rent and high rate deals which keep them from being competitive.

Focus should not be on stopping new people from setting up shops with reasonable prices outside of the town centre, the focus needs to be on lowering the rent and rates so shops in town can compete financially and new businesses can afford to open in the town centre. If you ask anyone with a business located outside the town centre now most all will tell you that they would love to relocate to the town centre, but financially it is not an option.

Arguing we have to stifle new business to protect old business which is burdened with a horrible business model is counterproductive.

We need real change, and if the local politicians are not willing to enact such change, we need new politicians. The problem seems to stem from the fact the old businesses are also scared for their future and use their ties to the local government to help stop any change, like we saw in the idea of pedestrianising the town centre.

So we are locked in a vicious cycle where new business is forced out of town and the businesses in town then complain about those new businesses and all the while the town gets worse.

We need a reduction in rates. We can start by cutting a few council members as we don't need that many anyway. Why they added a new one last election is beyond me, since they can't afford the ones we currently have. They need to cut their pay. When I lived in the states the local town councilors in many areas worked the job for free, as a badge of honour, in small towns where the budget was tight. Sometimes they would give them a small bonus if they were able to secure deals that filled the coffers, but other than that, no pay. Maybe we should look at a similar commission based council. They only get paid if they find cost savings or are able to secure deals that return on investment in our area.

The rent needs to drop. The idea that rent is directly tied to value needs to be removed. Property owners need to be able to cut the rent of places they own and not have to worry about its effects on the value. Banks need to allow this as well so property owners will be free to do so.

At the end of the day this whole issue rests on the shoulders of the council, and I for one don't think the current shower that are in there are up to the challenge of enacting any sort of change at all. So far all they have done is spend our tax money paying for a few celebrities to roll through and offer ideas that any first year business student would have already suggested. Thats not change, thats window dressing.

Maybe we should start naming a shaming them publicly more to force their hand. I mean seriously, can anyone else here tell me how many council members there are and who they are?

If we as a town want movement on this we must first start making those in charge of it accountable.

I cannot just selectively quote that, bravo, well said, 100% agree!
This is the kind of thinking this county BADLY needs.
The town center is a bit of a shambles, I go there for the small shops, I think there's a lot of good ones.
But as far as grocery shopping goes, I do it all on the way home from Limerick, it's simply easier.

Joe10000

I visit nearly all the tesco's in Ireland on a regular basis and based on experience I am sure they are looking for a Tesco extra site in Ennis.

lab man

I have friends in coventry england they say that tesco leaves only ghost towns after about 10 yrs as they say you never talk to the shop assistant as they are prob students that just dont give a sh1t,

if teco want to mmmake it bigger why cant they build up another story,if they move what about the dry cleanes the key maker man, the jeweler,sherwood rest,the car shop etc as they probably have long leases so if tesco moves i'd think they would be under pressure so i say help the small guys in town the ppl in kilrush have to some extinct alot of ppl going back to super value

Balagan

Tesco pharmacies starting to open in Ireland.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/medicine-costs-to-tumble-in-price-war-2924777.html

Swings and roundabouts.

Don_Corleone

Its no secret that the owners of the site are under intense financial pressure, see the hotels including the clare inn and the west county being put into receivership. And I for one genuinely feel sorry for them to see all those years of work go down the drain.

The rezoning and granting of planning on this site as well as having tesco as the anchor tenant will probably go a long way towards solving some of the financial difficulties, this development is akin to winning the lotto for the land owners. And who could blame them for trying to do it, most people would do the same.

That said, i think it is the wrong site and the wrong time.
The site is a known flood area, and at a time when the country is on its knees and Ennis town centre is experiencing record commercial vacancies, this should just not even be on the table. It is not 2006 anymore.
However political connections and favours being called in will see this passed at a local level with maybe one or two dissenting voices on the council, but make no mistake the decision is already made it will be passed everything else is just window dressing.

It then remains to see what will happen at An bord pleanala who refused it before but then again remember ABP is filled with Fianna Fail appointees.
These are the same people who granted planning for the casino in borris in ossory.

Things may change over time and if the general and local economy improved and Ennis actually NEEDED the extra commercial space then I'd be all for it but at a time when shopping centres all over ireland are standing empty or only half full, building another one at the expense of our historic town centre just doesnt make sense.

Lady Chatterton

Don_Corleone wrote: »

Its no secret that the owners of the site are under intense financial pressure, see the hotels including the clare inn and the west county being put into receivership. And I for one genuinely feel sorry for them to see all those years of work go down the drain.The rezoning and granting of planning on this site as well as having tesco as the anchor tenant will probably go a long way towards solving some of the financial difficulties, this development is akin to winning the lotto for the land owners.

I know where my sympathy lies, it is with the small and medium businesses that had to settle for a 90% write-off debts and in some cases were left waiting to receive their 10%.

Creditors await Lynch payment

A NUMBER of small and medium enterprises who had to settle for a 90% write-off of debts owed by the Clare-based Lynch Hotel Group are still waiting for their accounts to be settled, it emerged this week.

A Clare Champion survey of creditors, owed varying amounts from a few hundred to a few hundred-thousand euro, revealed that some creditors only received 10% of outstanding debts recently, weeks after the High Court hammered out a deal under the Examinership process.

A group spokesman, however, pledged that all creditors would be paid the amounts agreed under the High Court settlement.

The Lynch Hotel Group, which had debts of over €22.85 million, went into voluntary Examinership last July in order to protect its business and the employment of 530 staff members, 250 of which are based in its three Clare hotels - The West County, Ennis; The Clare Inn, Dromoland and The Ocean Cove in Kilkee.

Examiner Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton, a Dublin-based accounting and auditing company, devised a scheme of arrangement, which saw preferential creditors accept 15% and agreed creditors 10% of monies owing.

With creditors consenting to write off debts of €3.5 million, the family-owned hotel group was given a deadline of December 30, 2009 following the
Examinership proceedings, to make payments to hundreds of creditors.

However, The Clare Champion has learned that the group was not able to meet this deadline for a number of its creditors who received payments after the cut-off date.

The behaviour of the group was described as “sickening” by Councillor Martin Conway, who claimed the hotel chain had received a “bail out” from their banks, local authorities and hundreds of small businesses that supplied them with goods and services.

The Ennistymon councillor, who was contacted recently by creditors experiencing their own serious trading difficulties, said he was taken aback to learn they still hadn’t received the 10% owed to them under the court-appointed examiner’s order.

Having tabled a motion at the January meeting of Clare County Council, he asked the council’s head of finance if the local authority was paid 15% of the €137,664 it was owed.

Councillor Conway said he learned a few days after the meeting, that the money wasn’t paid and the matter is now in the hands of the county solicitor.
A council spokeswoman confirmed this money was subsequently paid on January 20 last.

Councillor Conway has proposed that the legislation allowing a court-appointed examiner should be overhauled to allow creditors, who are not paid within the timeframe under the terms of the settlement, to automatically return to the court.

“It is completely unacceptable for businesses who are struggling to survive that they should have to wait in limbo for their 10c in the euro. If the directors have personal assets, then they should be used to fund small creditors whose survival is reliant on getting their money,” he said.

Mr Conway added that if a company gets back to profitability following an arrangement under this process then there should be some mechanism for creditors, who took the pain to recoup their money.

“In a couple of years’ time, if this company makes substantial profits, the shareholders will benefit and the creditors who took the hit get nothing. This is completely unfair,” he said.

The Clare Champion has learned that Mulqueen florists, Clare Bar Supplies and Clare Foods received payment within the specified period.

However, NC Paint and Décor stated that it received a payment last week while The Clare Champion, FHB Building Supplies, Shannon and Kelly Refrigeration all got paid on January 13.

Management at Ennis Curtains and Blinds, Dan McInerney and the Irish Music Rights Organistion (IMRO) claimed they had not received any payment up to Wednesday morning.

According to High Court documents, the West County Hotel has listed AIB, Bank of Ireland, Bank of Scotland as secured creditors in the sum of €9.6 million, €3.4 million and €7.242 million respectively.

None of the banks confirmed whether payments had been received when contacted by the ‘Champion.

Ennis Town Council and the Revenue Commissioners also remained tight-lipped about whether they received 15% of the overall figure for commercial rates of €113,071, PAYE/PRSI of €689,393 and VAT of €524,083.
P K Travel, Ennis Lock and Key, Clare Road Tyres, Celtic Line, Fexco Finance, Patrick Bourke (Ennis), Corrib Foods, Celtic Linen declined to comment.
Dromoland Castle (owed over €42,000 by the Clare Inn and West County Hotel) and Dunnes Stores (owed €119,070) hadn’t responded to queries at the time of going to press, neither had Shannonside Oil, Ennis Lifts or Sweeney McGrath Solicitors.

James Kelly from Kelly Butchers, said that he felt very aggrieved that the hotel group could continue to trade after his business suffered a big hit of having to write off debts of over €25,000 for goods supplied over an 18-month period.
Describing the entire process as very unfair, Mr Kelly confirmed that he refused to continue supplying the group after this unsatisfactory deal.

Carol Quinlivan of Ennis Curtains and Blinds said she was very upset at losing almost €3,000 after she had previously planned to use this money to pay commercial rates and tax.

She said that it was appalling that she had to chase the group for just 10% of the money they owed and was forced to enter into an arrangement with the town council to make weekly instalments for rates.

Another creditor, who didn’t wish to be named for commercial reasons, claimed the whole deal was unfair on creditors who bailed out between 400 and 500 jobs in the hotel chain while they were left struggling.

He warned that even more Clare companies would be forced out of business if they were hit by a similar 90% write-off or more bad debts.

“Creditors who take a hit when a company goes into Examinership or receivership should get some financial support from the Government,” he said.

http://www.clarechampion.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1469:creditors-await-lynch-payment&catid=63:business&Itemid=60

Don_Corleone

MrsD007 wrote: »

I know where my sympathy lies, it is with the small and medium businesses that had to settle for a 90% write-off debts and in some cases were left waiting to receive their 10%.





http://www.clarechampion.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1469:creditors-await-lynch-payment&catid=63:business&Itemid=60

Wont argue with you on that one, its a clusterfcuk for all involved, shareholders, banks, creditors, employees all got screwed. Except the examiner/receiver, bet hes getting a nice payday out of this, and of course he/she gets paid first!!

Lady Chatterton

Don_Corleone wrote: »

Wont argue with you on that one, its a clusterfcuk for all involved, shareholders, banks, creditors, employees all got screwed. Except the examiner/receiver, bet hes getting a nice payday out of this, and of course he/she gets paid first!!

I feel the development needs to be good for the town and its people, it should NEVER be about solving the financial worries of a wealthy family who have taken a financial hit recently.

tatoo

If this developement gets the go ahead will it mean that the hotel companies creditors ( and I don't give a fiddlers about the banks ) get paid ?
Will it f"€k ??

Lady Chatterton

tatoo wrote: »

If this developement gets the go ahead will it mean that the hotel companies creditors ( and I don't give a fiddlers about the banks ) get paid ?
Will it f"€k ??

The hotels are separate legal entities so the answer to that question would be No.

MOSSAD

No more shopping centres. We have enough.